[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1541-S1542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Katherine C. Tai

  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I am delighted to rise today in full 
support of Katherine Tai, President Biden's nominee to be our next U.S. 
Trade Representative.
  As my colleagues are well aware, trade is an issue that impacts every 
corner of our country and, indeed, every corner of our globe. Roughly 
75 percent--listen to this--75 percent of the world's purchasing power 
and over 95 percent of the world's consumers lie outside of our 
country's borders. If the United States is going to continue to be 
successful, we need to be able to tap into those markets and expand 
trading opportunities while ensuring a level playing field for American 
businesses and, I might say, for American consumers as well.
  In Delaware, the First State, and throughout our Nation, trade 
policies affect how American businesses, both large and small--be they 
financial services, tech companies, workers, farmers, manufacturers--
can compete in the global economy. But thanks to President Trump's 
haphazard trade wars over the last 4 years, American farmers, 
manufacturers, producers, and consumers too often have been left 
hanging in the balance--a situation that has been exasperated by this 
pandemic.
  Now more than ever, all of them are in need of greater certainty and 
predictability. For the last 30, 40 years that I have served as 
Delaware's Treasurer, Congressman, Governor, and Senator, when I ask 
businesses what they want or need, more often than not, they say 
``certainty and predictability.'' For the last 4 years, we have had too 
little of both.
  Instead of the chaotic approach of the last 4 years, we need 
strategic and thoughtful trade policies. That is why President Biden 
has nominated Katherine Tai, an experienced public servant and trade 
expert, to serve as our Nation's top trade official. Katherine will be 
a steady hand at the U.S. Trade Rep's Office, and as a key member of 
the Biden administration, she will make sure that our trade policies 
benefit all Americans and leave no one behind. She will work hard to 
help jump-start our economy and ensure that American goods and services 
can reach international markets and that we can compete on a level 
playing field.
  Katherine comes to this role with an exceptional breadth and depth of 
relevant trade expertise. She has earned a remarkable reputation as an 
expert in her field and is a leader who is respected by Democrats and 
Republicans alike in this Chamber and in the House of Representatives.
  In her previous role, Katherine was chief trade counsel for the House 
Ways and Means Committee. There, she was a lead negotiator on the 
USMCA, U.S.-Mexico-Canada-America Trade Agreement, which notably passed 
Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, in no smart part because 
of her efforts.
  Members of my own staff are grateful for the opportunity to work with 
Katherine to secure historically strong environmental provisions, 
including new monitoring and enforcement tools in the USMCA, which will 
help make sure

[[Page S1542]]

that alleged environmental violations will be investigated and remedied 
in a timely manner. These new tools and resources will help ensure that 
environmental protections are not just words on a piece of paper but 
policies that will actually be put into practice and consistently 
maintained well into the future.
  As chairman of both the Environment and Public Works Committee and 
the Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, I look forward to 
working with my colleagues and with Katherine Tai and her team to build 
on the progress that was made in the USMCA.
  Another immense trade challenge that we face now is to effectively 
counter China's unfair trade practices and its expanding influence in 
international trade. Since joining the World Trade Organization, the 
WTO, in 2001, China has proven to be a bad actor time and again. I 
believe that, working with our allies in the Pacific Rim in a spirit 
similar to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we can more effectively 
ensure that China adheres to its trade commitments with us and with the 
rest of the world.
  Katherine has the expertise to help make that happen. Her prior 
experience as U.S. Trade Rep's Chief Counsel for China Trade 
Enforcement, where she led efforts to hold China accountable at the WTO 
for its unfair trade practices, is going to prove to be a tremendous 
asset for our Nation.
  We would be lucky to have Katherine Tai, a committed public servant, 
represent our Nation on the world stage. As a daughter of immigrants 
and the first woman of color to be nominated to serve as U.S. Trade 
Rep, Katherine often cites her parents, also both public servants, as 
her inspiration.
  In her testimony to the Finance Committee that I serve on, Katherine 
said--I want to quote her. Here is what she said. Speaking of her 
parents, she said:

       I am proud of their service to the nation that welcomed 
     them. And I am proud to live in a country where, in just one 
     generation, their daughter could grow up to represent the 
     United States and our interests around the globe.

  Those are her words.
  I, too, am proud to serve in a country where this is possible.
  Simply put, Katherine has decades of experience in trade, years of 
experience working in trade in a bipartisan fashion, and a keen 
understanding of the role Congress can play alongside the 
administration to implement successful trade policies.
  As the world grapples with the greatest economic downturn since the 
Great Depression, it is more important now than ever to have a leader 
at the U.S. Trade Rep's Office who will work with Congress to advance a 
trade agenda that uplifts American workers in every corner of our 
country, spurs domestic manufacturing, and improves environmental and 
labor standards throughout the world.
  Given Katherine's track record and many years of experience working 
across the aisle in Congress, I am confident that she has the broad 
support necessary to be a highly skilled and effective U.S. Trade 
Representative as she takes on the many trade challenges that we face, 
and I invite my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm Katherine 
Tai to serve as our next Trade Representative.
  If I could, do I have a few more minutes to speak?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. You do
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, my legislative director is a woman named 
Xiao. Lucy is her first name, Lucy Xiao. She said to me several months 
ago, after the election--Joe Biden was elected--she said: You know, we 
were working on the USMCA last year. We worked with a woman who was a 
very senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee staff to help 
make sure the environmental provisions in the law are not only strong 
but enforceable.
  She said: The woman we worked with is a top staff person on the House 
Ways and Means Committee. Her name is Katherine Tai.
  Lucy said to me: I think that Katherine Tai might make a good U.S. 
Trade Rep and may make a very interesting human story as well.
  I have huge respect for Lucy's judgment, and I turned around and I 
called on the phone the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, an 
old colleague from my days in the House, Richard Neal.
  I said: Richard, does the name ``Katherine Tai'' mean anything to 
you?
  He said: Oh, yes. She is a great member of my staff.
  I said: She has been suggested as someone who might serve as the U.S. 
Trade Rep. What do you think?
  He said: She would be excellent. She would be excellent.
  The next call I made was to Ted Kaufman, former U.S. Senator, former 
chief of staff to Joe Biden for many years, and the interim Senator in 
this body for 2 years after Joe was elected Vice President. I called 
former Senator Kaufman, who was in charge of the transition for the 
Biden team, and I said: Ted, I think I have a good name for Trade Rep.
  I explained who Katherine Tai was and her history and her work 
experience and what Chairman Richard Neal said about her.
  I said: She might be a keeper.
  A week later, he called me and he said: We are getting all kinds of 
great comments about Katherine Tai.
  He said: You know, I think you don't always have the best judgment, 
Tom Carper, but I think in this case, maybe you are like a blind 
squirrel that occasionally finds a nugget.
  And I think maybe in this case, I have, with the strong support and 
help of Lucy.
  So that is the story. That is my Katherine Tai story. She is a 
keeper, and we are lucky to have her. She will succeed if confirmed. 
She will succeed Robert Lighthizer and Michael Froman, our immediate 
past two Trade Reps. Those are big shoes to fill, but she is very well 
prepared to fill them.
  With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. COTTON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.