U S Senate Committee on Finance : Finance Committee Democrats Call On President to End Trade Secrecy

January 12,2018

Washington, D.C. -Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and nine other Finance Committee Democrats urged the presidenttoday to direct agency heads responsible for trade policy to follow transparency rules in trade negotiations and release trade reports to the public.

Senators Ben Cardin, D-Md., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Maria Cantwell, D-Wa., Mark Warner, D-Va., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Tom Carper. D-Del., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., signed the letter.

'Recent decisions by the Administration to begin trade negotiations with Korea without complying with basic transparency requirements set out in U.S. law and the failure of the Administration to release several trade-related reports raise serious questions regarding the Administration's commitment to openness with the American public when it comes to trade policy,' the senators wrote in their letter today. 'Put simply, when it comes to trade policy, Americans cannot be left in the dark.'

Read the full letter here.

Background

U.S. negotiators have opted not to follow transparency rules in discussions with Korea launched this month and neither USTR nor Commerce has released a range of reports the President directed them to prepare last year on the causes of significant trade deficits, government procurement, and violations or abuses of WTO rules. The Senators also urged the President to ensure that Commerce completes its reports to the President in the Section 232 investigations of steel and aluminum imports on time and releases them to the public.

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