Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 13 • Number 9 • 11th March 2009
Kirk, Pledging Strict Enforcement, Looks Set to Take Top US Trade Job
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Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas, Texas, appears destined to become the next US Trade Representative following a positive hearing before the US Senate Finance Committee on 9 March.
Kirk’s bid had run into problems in early March when the vetting process turned up tax errors that had the former Dallas mayor paying US$10,000 in back taxes.
However, the hearing appeared to dismiss the issue as unintentional and irrelevant to his ability to function as USTR. Committee Chairman Max Baucus made note of the issue, saying that Kirk had made “regrettable, but I believe, honest mistakes.”
At the hearing, which was noted for its brevity, Kirk confirmed that his agenda would focus more on enforcing rules governing already established trade deals, rather than actively pursuing new agreements. “I do not come to this job with ‘deal fever’,” Kirk commented, alluding to the multitude of deals seen under the Bush Administration. “We will not do trade deals just for the sake of doing deals.”
And while ongoing free trade negotiations with Panama and Colombia still appear to be on track, the US-South Korea trade deal could be on shaky ground with the potential new USTR. “The agreement as it is just simply isn’t fair, and if we don’t get that right we’ll be prepared to step away from that,” Kirk said. Pundits say re-thinking the deal would help the Obama government ease pressure from Detroit over foreign competition in the domestic auto market. However, South Korea has said in the past that it will not renegotiate the pact.
Observers say that as a well-known free trader, Kirk faced little opposition from Republican Senators on Monday. Kirk underscored his position on free trade at the hearing, saying that he wants to work with US trading partners to move the long-delayed WTO Doha Round forward and says he supports the initiative by the US Congress to establish ‘referees’ at the WTO to help enforce trade rules.
Kirk also noted that, with him at the helm of trade issues, the US would put diplomatic pressure on China to champion free trade and shift its economy away from a reliance on exports and manufacturing and. The US would also urge the WTO to push Beijing on this front, Kirk said.
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to hold a vote on Kirk’s appointment on 12 March. A yes vote would set the stage for a full Senate vote on the matter. Kirk is now widely expected to win approval on both occasions.
Kirk’s nomination was announced in December by then-President-elect Barack Obama (see Bridges Weekly, 16 January 2009, http://ictsd.net/i/trade-and-sustainable-development-agenda/37926/).
“U.S. panel to vote Thursday on USTR-nominee Kirk,” REUTERS, 10 March 2009; “Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk breezes through Senate confirmation hearing,” DALLAS NEWS, 10 March 2009; “Obama’s trade pointman vows strict enforcement,” AFP, 10 March 2009; “Trade Nominee Stresses Rules Over Deals,” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 10 March 2009.
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