USTR

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, like all other federal agencies, is adapting to life during a global pandemic that has radically overhauled how many work. But how, exactly, the new reality is affecting its operations is not known -- and USTR isn’t saying. 

“Why would the U.S. increase the cost and difficulty of supplying protective gear to doctors and nurses? Why would Washington obstruct the acquisition of lifesaving equipment?”

The agency said it was following the recommendations of the CDC amid the coronavirus outbreak.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday notified Capitol Hill that the Trump administration plans to negotiate a comprehensive trade deal with Kenya, setting up the start of negotiations as early as mid-June.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce this week established a task force to address supply chain and trade disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

“We’ll look at the differences, and we'll do it the way two partners do: Talking about it, preferably discreetly,” the Spanish foreign affairs minister said.

“He gave me a litany of problems with it but no real definitive strategy or plan in moving forward."

Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday that the administration should consider lifting tariffs to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but several members said he was not receptive to the proposal.

The U.S. International Trade Commission last week said boosting the number of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells that can be imported under the Trump administration’s safeguard measure on solar imports would likely reduce the cost burden on U.S. module manufacturers and improve domestic profitability.