Shop any at cspanshop. Org. A healthy democracy does not just look like this, it looks like this. Where americans can see democracy at work and citizens are truly informed and the republic thrives. Get informed straight from the source on cspan, unfiltered, unbiased, word for word, from the Nations Capital to wherever you are because the opinion that matters the most is your own. This is what democracy looks like. Cspan, powered by cable. Next, a discussion about the Biden Administrationss trade policy and agenda featuring a trade representative. During her remarks at the center for american progress, she outlined a workerfocused trade plan and talked about ongoing trade negotiations. Please, one question per guest. [indiscernible] the event will start soon. It will start now. Good morning. Welcome to the center for american progress, both people here in the room as well as people online. I am the Senior Vice President for National Security and International Policy here. Before we get into todays events, i want to take a moment to extend condolences to all affected by the conflict that began in israel this weekend. Israeli and Palestinian Civilians alike, and americans as well. Hamass acts of terror on innocent siblings are deplorable and must be widely and forcefully condemned civilians are deplorable and must be widely and forcefully condemned by us. It is important we wring an end to the violence and address the underlying cycles of abuse and oppression in the region. All of us here continue to hope for and work towards a swift resolution. As for todays events, im looking forward to todays program because its clear were at a pivot point for the next generation of trade policy as the world confronts the effects of climate change, as the Biden Administration prioritizes workers rights and as geopolitical dynamic shift. It is crucial we chart a path forward on trade. Who better to discuss up at four the 19th United States trade representative, the principal trade advisor, negotiator and spokesperson on u. S. Trade policy in the president s cabinet. She has spent most of her career in the service focusing on International Economic diplomacy monitoring and enforcement, and prior to her role as u. S. Trade representative, she served as chief trade council on the house ways and means committee. She helped to shape u. S. Trade law and negotiation strategies in both bilateral and multilateral trade agreements including the u. S. Mexicocanada agreement. And we are thrilled to welcome her back for her second visit. Well, kind of. In april 2021, she delivered the keynote at a Virtual Event on u. S. Trade policy. Today we are delighted to welcome her to the stage in person. Ambassador will deliver keynote remarks and sit down with the ceo for conversation followed by audience comment. Ambassador, welcome. [applause] well, hello, everyone. Thank you for the kind introduction. Before i get started i want to take a moment to acknowledge the horrific terrorist attacks in my thoughts are worth those who have been impacted by this violence. To be here today, i do want to say that it is wonderful to be here with all of you in person. To share how we are delivering through our trade agenda on President Bidens vision to build our economy from the middle out, and the bottom up. Patrick, thank you so much for having me today. You have long been a catalyst for change. You dedicating your career to lifting up workers into raising the quality of life of communities around the world, including as u. S. Ambassador to south africa. You transformed hope into tangible progress for so many people. It is especially meaningful to share the stage with you. Change is what our administration is about. Change for the better, for our workers, for more communities across the country, and for our planet. We are beyond just talking, in our third year, we are transforming trade and delivering results. When President Biden asked me to serve as his trade representative, he cast me with putting workers at the center of our trade initiative. That is because the president s vision is an economy where, as he puts it, everyone is cut in on the deal. As the president said at the United Nations last month, the United States has a duty to join together with partners who share a common vision of the future of the world. Where our children do not go hungry, where workers are empowered and our environment is protected. Where entrepreneurs and innovators in a world of uncertainties and growing economic insecurity, the status quo we know is not good enough. And we are doing something about it. At its core, our workers entered trade policy is about people. The economy is more than numbers. It is people. So our Economic Policy must work for our people. Our work to implement and enforce the United Statesmexicocanada agreement exemplifies this belief. Trade tools are not trophies to be admired on shelves, they are living arrangements between dynamic economies, and i meant to be used and put to the test. And that is exactly what we are doing,. We are actively working with mexico to advance labor cases through the u. S. Mc eight the usmcas Rapid Response mechanism to make sure this agreement helps drive a race to the top. About 90 of the cases have been in the auto sector. And we are seeing real change and success for workers and independent unions in mexico. New collective bargaining agreements, major salary increases, safer working conditions. This is having a real impact on working peoples lives, not only in mexico, but also here at home. Because elevating labor standards in mexico and powers u. S. Workers by reducing unfair incentives to ship jobs overseas. In our most recent actions, we are pushing further forward into the procedures laid out in this mechanism as you saw and our request for a panel in the san martin mine case. We are committed to using every enforcement tool at our disposal to safeguard workers rights, and across the board. In may, i was honored to invite uaw president sean fain, and aflcio secretarytreasurer frederick redman to present and speak with my trade minister colleagues at a firstever labor Discussion Forum at the trade ministerial we hosted in detroit. In order to understand why we are placing the interests and needs of our workers at the center of our trade policies, and in order to work with us to develop more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economy in the asiapacific region, it is critical for our partners to meet and hear directly from the leaders of our worker organizations. Not just our company ceos. During our host, we are seizing the opportunity to demonstrate the power of inclusion as a means to promote Economic Opportunity and competition. This means lifting up Women Entrepreneurs and workers, helping Small Businesses grow, and unlocking Economic Opportunities for underrepresented parts of our population. And we are walking our talk. In San Francisco in november, a peck trade ministers will hear from and engage with Indigenous Leaders from around the asiapacific so that their voices can help shape our work. We are focused on empowering more workers and more communities to fly in the new global economy. That means trading smarter, more strategically, in pursuit of better outcomes, in a more inclusive prosperity across our societies. Our work with india is a good example. Since june, we have been able to achieve targeted Market Opportunity breakthroughs for American Farmers and producers, including four turkey, pecans, blueberries exports to india. This happened outside the usual trade agreement context that some see as the only trade success that counts. Let me assure you, our farmers and producers no that these wins cant. This is also why are major trade initiative in framework is not a traditional trade deal. It is our vision for how countries can collaborate to deliver real opportunities for our people, and collectively respond to the challenges we are facing today, without pitting our middle classes against each other. We need a different approach. Not trickledown economics and trade form. Not maximum tariff liberalization that contributed to the hollowing out of our industrial heartland. An approach that can lift all votes. One way economies collaborate on commonsense rules to prioritize resilience, and help smaller businesses compete and thrive without undercutting workers. Let me give you some real world examples. Many Small Businesses face burdensome paperbased custom procedures across the region that stymie experts and pose significant cost. We are working with partners to fix and improve that including through new automation and digital procedures that create uniformity in fairness and reduce cost. Whether it is the turkey farmers i met in North Carolina two weeks ago, or the artisans hand making craft chocolates in vietnam. This will be a tangible benefit that will help their businesses and their livelihoods. Another example is on transparency. When regulatory changes happen without sufficient notice and a chance for input, it creates uncertainty that makes it hard for companies to do business, especially the smaller ones. And for stakeholders to prepare and adapt. That is why we are working in the ipf trade pillar to improve information about regulatory actions. And make sure stakeholders can review and comment on goals that affect them. A third example is sustainable agriculture. This can play a big part in our cooperative efforts to address the Climate Crisis. We are working on rules to enable policy approaches that are grounded in science, evidence, and transparency, so that our farmers, ranchers, and producers can continue to lead in advancing Climate Smart approaches to agricultural production. Im glad to be teaming up with secretary of agriculture tom vilsack who has made the largest investment in Climate SmartAgricultural Research in u. S. History. Our work on streamlining customs, procedures, and transparency will be beneficial for smaller farmers who do not have the same capacity as big agro businesses to navigate complex rules. We have been driving an ambitious schedule, negotiating for the ipf. We have made significant progress in the span of one year. This is a sign that our partners also recognized the need to do things differently for their own resilience. We are currently also hard at work with the European Union to fundamentally shift the paradigm for trade and production in steel and aluminum. From a race to the bottom, to a race to the top. That means working together to create incentives for addressing nonmarket excess capacity in those sectors, and combating the Climate Crisis. With no shortage of ambition, we are aiming to tackle both at the same time, with a deal that we are calling, the global arrangement on steel and aluminum. We owe it to our workers and industries on both sides of the atlantic to curb the overflow of these products, enabled by countries using unfair policies and practices. This will help to send workers and their communities from the harmful effects they suffered for too long. And we want to incentivize cleaner production and trade in steel and aluminum to provide a pathway toward a more sustainable industrial future. In a nutshell, our goal is to incentivize fair competition and a race to the top for our planet. We have been working very hard on this over the last two years, and we are making progress. And i fully expect to be able to share that progress in the next weeks. I want to emphasize the Global Nature of this endeavor, and not just because the word is in the name. Our vision is for this tool to eventually be expanded to include other likeminded partners, and perhaps other sectors, because, as it turns out, we are all in this together. When it comes to crafting a fair and more equitable future for our people through trade policy, we must Work Together with countries in every region and state united in our cause. Our partnership with africa is also an important part of this vision. I will be heading to johannesburg at the end of the month, with many colleagues from this administration, congress, labor, and Civil Society and the private sector, to cohost the 20th United StatesSubsaharan Africa trade and Economic Cooperation forum with south african minister of trade, and my friend. The annual forum was a key part of the african growth and opportunity act when it was signed. And it remains an Important Program for the u. S. To support africas ongoing Regional Economic integration, and to empower more people to reap the benefits of economic growth. It has served as a core tool to help utilize africas incredible potential to increase investments and to create new jobs across the continent. The congressional authorization expires in two years. We are committed to working closely with congress on a Forward Vision that reflects changes on the continent and opportunities for improvements. In terms of improvements, consider utilization rates remain low. Lets discuss what changes might improve and raise those rates, particularly among smaller and less developed countries in africa. In terms of changes on the continent, consider that since agoa was renewed in 2015, the africa the african continent of freetrade area has come into being. Our program to support African Economic development should reflect this important milestone. We recognize that a successful new trade paradigm must reimagine trade and development as a partnership and a more equitable twoway street. When i traveled to nairobi in july to discuss the u. S. Kenya strategic trade and investment partnership, i was were in a minded i was reminded about how africas vibrancy and potential are extraordinary and undeniable. The continents success is linked to ours, and we need to rode together for our people, for our future. The last time my staff and i counted, we had logged more than 200,000 miles crisscrossing the globe, which now brings me back to our own hemisphere, and the Americas Partnership for economic prosperity. It is not just ustr working day and night to rewrite our new story on trade. The entire administration is so busy, we are pulling double duty, while i am in johannesburg for the agoa form, President Biden will be hosting Americas Partnership leaders in washington to do to continue discussion and art shared prosperity. The president believes trade can be a force for good, and so do i. The decisions we make today will directly affect the worlds future generations will shape and lead. It is on us, those of us doing this work now, to do trade in a new and better way. To provide Economic Security for the american people. To build a brighter tomorrow for our collective resiliency in prosperity, and to craft meaningful durable change one step at a time. It is an honor to serve in this administration. And work for a president that fully embraces this vision and challenge, and i look forward to talking about all of these issues and more with patrick shortly. Thank you. [applause] patrick 200,000 miles . That is impressive. Rep. Tai please dont consider the Carbon Footprint of that. Patrick im not. Im just really pleased that your 200,000 miles has managed to get you back here twice. We are proudly a small part of that extraordinary journey. I was taking furious notes as he spoke. There is so much to cover from labor rights, to supply chains, to clean energy. I really want to thank you for those invigorating and illuminating remarks. Im going to say i am incredibly envious now that i know sometime in the next few weeks, you will be heading back to that south african summer in johannesburg. We are going to touch a little bit on that later in the conversation, and look more indepth on what a goal renewal means on both sides of the atlantic. I want to start if i can with the 30,000 foot elevation of what this new industrial policy means. We know this administration across the board, from the president , the cabinet agencies have worked furiously to actualize this historic commitment to renewed industrial policy in the country, that has reinvigorated industries and cross the board. And has made a significant contribution to the states he mentioned before that have been hollowed out. Can you ground us in what that means for ensuing 21st century trade policy, through your vision . We appreciate some of the things we hear you say about building the middle out, moving past the status quo, what does that mean practically, as he think about americas role in the world of trade in these next decades . Rep. Tai that is a great question and a really important foundation, and foundational place to start from. One of the really important aspects of what we are doing now is we are doing so much, but nothing in what we are doing is really a traditional approach. I think it is really important to recognize this. Because i think it gets lost in the conversation sometimes, that if it is not the thing you have been doing over and ove