WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed longtime Senate lawyer Jayme White as deputy U.S. trade representative.
The Senate voted 80-18 to confirm White, a strong bipartisan majority but short of the rare unanimous confirmation vote his new boss, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, received.
White, who served as the chief trade adviser to the Senate Finance Committee, has worked on nearly every major trade issue and legislation for two decades.
White worked closely with Tai, who previously served as chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement that took effect in July 2020.
In his confirmation hearing, White had vowed to carry out “robust monitoring” of compliance to the U.S.-EU agreement on aircraft subsidies.
Tai and President Joe Biden are pursuing a trade policy that focuses on American workers’ rights and livelihoods, protection of the environment and human rights.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
