Neal Opening Statement at Hearing on Biden Administration’s 2024 Trade Policy Agenda

(As prepared for delivery)

Ambassador Tai, welcome back to the Committee. You're joining us in a time of great progress and potential. 15 million jobs have been created under President Biden, wages continue to rise, and unemployment has been under 4% for the longest span in decades. Our economic success has defied expectations. I saw a headline in the Wall Street Journal that read, and I quote, "Envy of the World-U.S. Economy Expected to Keep Powering Higher."

Putting workers and their families first made this possible. We're building an economy from the bottom-up and the middle-out, putting weight to the phrase "Made in America". Through targeted investments, we've supercharged domestic manufacturing and improved supply chain resiliency, all while creating millions of jobs. For years to come these successes will continue to unfold, but in the meantime, we can return to our roots as a maritime nation. Bolstering our commercial shipping industry with a comprehensive strategy to expand the sector and grow the workforce is the next frontier for Making it in America, and I look forward to working together on this.

Our investment in combatting climate change, which is the largest in our nation's history, is already ushering in hundreds of thousands of new, good-paying jobs, and spreading green investment across the country. The success of late has shown just how interconnected workers' rights, environmental protections, and a growing economy are. Ensuring that our trade policies support our values is critical, and I'm grateful for your leadership in what will be a lasting shift from the trade policy of yesterday to the Biden Administration's worker-first agenda.

As our nation's lead trade negotiator, you have fought to ensure that America's workers and businesses have the tools they need to compete in today's global economy and strengthened our relationships with our allies across the world. Most recently, at the World Trade Organization's MC13, securing an agreement on the e-commerce moratorium and making welcome progress on fish subsidies.

Robustly enforcing our trade agreement is another way you've put workers at the center of our trade policy. With USMCA standing as the beacon for what's possible, labor and environmental protections are no longer additions on top of an agreement, but now the very foundation of any agreement.

I credit much of this progress to the work and consensus-building of Congress. The collaboration between Congress and the Executive is necessary for the success of trade policy. Only through this collaboration can durable, enforceable agreements be created, and can trade policy live up to its fullest potential. There's no better recent example than the Taiwan trade legislation signed into law last year. It is on this dais that the Congress expands economic ties and stands up for workers around the world, and together, we will continue using trade as a powerful driver for good-paying jobs and a thriving economy.

We are up against strong forces that threaten our progress. Whether it be Putin's unprovoked war on Ukraine or China's nonmarket practices, or even the Republican nominee's interest in purposely weakening the dollar. Amidst these challenges, we've seen unparalleled unity with our allies, and I look forward to working together on capitalizing on this momentum to deepen our economic connections, particularly in Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe.

We've seen what's possible with values-based trade policy, and when we work together, guided by doing what's right for the people, we can spread opportunity and prosperity.

Ambassador, thank you for joining us today, I yield back the balance of my time.

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