USTR's Exit Memo Highlights Obama Administration Trade Achievements
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman highlighted the major actions of his agency through the eight years of the Barack Obama presidency, in his Jan. 5 exit memo (here). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under Obama focused on removing…
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foreign barriers to U.S. exports, raising global trade standards and enforcing trade rights, Froman said. The memo spotlights the outgoing administration’s negotiation of “high-standard trade agreements” including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, its undefeated record of decided enforcement cases it has brought to the World Trade Organization and its trade preference programs. Froman cited “dramatically” dropping shipping costs, and changes to ways of doing business brought by internet expansion. Froman also said automation has changed how the world produces “almost every good and service,” but acknowledged that it has also “affected” jobs and wages growth. “The fundamental economic question of our time is not whether we can stop globalization, but whether we can use all the tools at our disposal to shape globalization in a way that helps the majority of Americans, and reflects not just our economic interests, but our values,” Froman wrote. “We need to continue to create good jobs, grow wages, and address income inequality. This has been the guiding principle of trade policy under President Obama, and I am proud of our record.”