Bipartisanship is rare on Capitol Hill these days, but one area of agreement recently is transparency in trade talks. While lawmakers aren’t directly involved in trade negotiations, they must ultimately approve trade deals the U.S. strikes with other nations, making transparency during negotiations vital. The issue came up as the Senate Finance Committee voted last week to advance President Biden U.S. Trade Representative nomination Katherine Tai to the full senate.

"I also want to work with her on continuing to expand transparency on our trade policies,” said Chairman Oregon’s Ron Wyden.

Ranking Republican Mike Crapo of Idaho voted for Tai but criticized her answer to his written question on trade talk transparency.

“Rather than confirming her understanding that the USTR must provide negotiating proposals, per statute, Ms. Tai’s response noted she will, ‘consult with the committee on trade negotiations.’ That is not good enough.”

Crapo noted that he and Chairman Wyden are “on the same page” on transparency, something both parties have sought in the past from administrations of the opposite party. Transparency could become more of an issue as authority expires in July for Presidents to speed deals through the House and Senate without amendments, known as Trade Promotion Authority, or ‘Fast Track’. 

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