Lighthizer confirmed as USTR chief

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as US trade representative has easily cleared a hurdle in the Senate.

The Senate voted on Thursday to limit debate over the nomination of Trump’s pick, the veteran trade lawyer Robert Lighthizer, by a 81-15 vote.

Lighthizer served as deputy USA trade representative in the 1980s under the administration of President Ronald Reagan.

Lighthizer takes the reins of the trade representative’s office more than four months after he was nominated for the job – and in the midst of a roller-coaster ride for USA trade policy.

ASA, along with many food and agriculture trade associations and companies, has continuously been supportive of Lighthizer’s confirmation, highlighting the need for more officials who understand the impacts and importance of trade. As one of his first acts in the presidency, Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which Congress hadn’t yet approved, and he’s since vowed to terminate or fix a five-year-old trade agreement with South Korea.

Some Democrats, while critical of Mr Trump’s views on trade, said they were confident Mr Lighthizer would work to help USA workers. It was a double hit against Mrs Hillary Clinton, who had begun TPP negotiations as secretary of state and who was first lady when Mr Bill Clinton clinched the 1993 trade deal with Canada and Mexico (Nafta).

On Thursday, Guajardo sent a stark message to the United States, saying an upcoming visit by Mexican officials to China showed Latin America’s second largest economy had other places to export to if Trump chose to tear up NAFTA. Economist Peter Navarro also is serving as a trade and manufacturing policy advisor.

This will allow the administration to kickstart the NAFTA renegotiation process.

Bell said that Lighthizer’s prior experience as a Deputy USTR and trade attorney and his reputation as a strong negotiator, make him the right person for the job.

One more of President Trump’s nominees can move into his office and take up the president’s agenda on global trade, specifically NAFTA.

In 2008, he wrote a column in The New York Times criticizing McCain, then the Republican presidential candidate, for his unstinting support of free trade.

But now the confirmation, which cleared a procedural hurdle on Thursday morning, is encountering opposition from members of Trump’s own party.

Philip K Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers’ Association (SMA) said that Lighthizer’s appointment was extremely pleasing. That would set up an August start date for the negotiations, for which both Canada and Mexico have been prepared for months. Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner joined them as the third Republican voting against the nomination Thursday.