The Biden administration has indicated in its early days that it intends to prioritize matters close to home. What that means for shifts in the U.S. trade posture from the previous administration remains to be seen, trade attorneys said.
“Where the Trump administration had a competitive focus, in my opinion, I think Biden will focus on social justice issues related to the environment, related to human rights, workers’ rights, labor,” Randy Rucker, a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP advising clients on customs and trade law, said on the panel.
The industry expects a clearer picture to emerge during the forthcoming confirmation hearing of Katherine Tai, the new president’s nominee for the U.S. trade representative role who was the chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee. Retailers are also awaiting enforcement shifts, as well as legislation on imports from China’s Xinjiang region, widely reported to have rampant forced labor practices, and where former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared a genocide of Uighur Muslims was taking place.