The following appeared in Tuesday’s issue of World Trade Online:
The clear focus of President-elect Barack Obama and senior members of his transition team on dealing with the current economic crisis will likely mean a delay in selecting the top officials in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), according to informed sources.
Some business and agriculture lobbyists speculate that USTR and USDA appointments are likely to be in the second if not third tranche of appointments following the core positions that include the secretary of the treasury. But that has not stopped them from speculating about possible candidates for these slots.
In the past, new administrations have taken as long as six months to begin developing a new trade policy, but this may take even longer in an Obama administration because the economy takes precedence, according to lobbyists.
One lobbyist speculated that Obama, who favors a cooperative multilateral approach to solving the economic crisis, may be hard pressed to at the same time pursue a trade policy that he has promised would be focused on enforcement of U.S. trading rights.
But at least one controversial trade issue — the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement — has come to the forefront of the transition. President Bush raised to the President-elect the need for Congress to pass the U.S.-Colombia FTA at the same time as the two discussed the need for a new economic stimulus package and aid to the U.S. auto industry.
Congressional Democrats have been pressing the administration to help the auto industry under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, according to which the federal government can use $700 billion to aid the financial services industry.
The White House denies that there is a linkage between the two issues, and some lobbyists see it as Bush testing the waters on whether congressional Democrats would drop their stated opposition in the post-election period. Incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has said that there should be no link between the FTA and the other economic issues.
It is clear that business supporters of the Colombia and Panama FTAs, who last week called for their passage in a lame-duck session, are not mounting a full-court press until it is clearer that there is a possibility that they could pass.
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