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Catherine Tai (47, photo), who is classified as a “great Chinese hawk,” was approved by Congress for an unusual “unanimous agreement” by the nominee of the US Trade Representative (USTR).
Foreign media such as Reuters reported that the US Senate passed the approval bill for the Thai nominee on the 17th (local time) with 98 votes in favor and 0 votes against. Accordingly, nominee Thai will lead the USTR as the first female head of color and the first Asian American representative. Reuters concluded that the Thai nominee was supported by the popular hawks of both the Democratic and Republican parties. The Washington Post (WP) saw this day as “a rare bipartisan agreement in the severely divided Washington government.”
The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Nominee Tai, who graduated from Yale University and Harvard University Law School, is a senior Chinese lawyer at the USTR and has spoken out of public opinion. The Thai nominee had at the time dealt with a dispute over China’s rare earth export control and mobilized other countries to respond hard to China. “There is a steel fist in the velvet glove,” described Thailand as “there is a steel fist in the velvet glove,” said Thai nominee’s colleague Benjamin Costze and his attorney.
Based on the history of the Thai nominee, local media predict that he will carry out the stance of the Joe Biden administration’s public affairs by taking a hard line against China in the trade sector. In fact, Thai nominee said at the Senate Financial Committee approval hearing on the 25th of last month that “China is a rival, trading partner, and a very large player to cooperate to solve certain global challenges.” At the time, he also expressed his intention to prioritize the implementation of US trade laws to protect vulnerable workers instead of concluding new trade agreements to promote exports. The issues that the Thai nominee should undertake right now include the long-standing disputes with European countries over taxes on aircraft subsidies and digital services, monitoring the implementation of Phase 1 trade agreements with China, and the reorganization of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
/ Reporter Yang-jun Cho [email protected]
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