Chamber FOIAs USTR Over "Secret" Negotiations

Without consultation with Congress or stakeholders, USTR is believed to be moving to renegotiate the investment chapters in the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in the waning days of this administration. 

The Chamber understands the effort has been under way for weeks, and conversations have quietly taken place with the governments of Colombia, Mexico, and Canada. The anticipated changes to the underlying agreements are likely to take the form of side letters with far-reaching, substantive changes to investment protections. 

Such a brazen move is more than merely an “interpretation” of the text. For both agreements, the text that has been submitted to the Trade Policy Steering Committee apparently includes extensive material changes to the obligations rather than focused on minor technical clarifications.  Further, the entire effort has been shielded from Congressional committees with jurisdiction over the agency.    

Any effort by USTR to follow through with its gameplan would be an unforced error, and a gift to our trading partners. Ironically, such a move would also undercut the Biden Administration’s efforts to encourage U.S. investment in the hemisphere as part of its initiative to nearshore supply chains and reduce critical dependencies on China. American companies have had investments expropriated in ongoing investment disputes with each of these countries and weakening these protections may be read as giving a “green light” for such actions. 

The Chamber today issued two Freedom of Information Request to better understand the origins of this misguided USTR effort, which can be found attached to this blog.