WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today released the following statement after the United States Senate confirmed Jayme White to serve as Deputy United States Trade Representative:
“Growing up in West Seattle, Jayme White has seen what trade can deliver. He knows that it can be a force for good that brings shared prosperity to workers and communities.
“I got to know Jayme when he was the Senate Finance Committee’s chief trade advisor. His intellect and understanding of the key issues are second-to-none, but he also asks the thoughtful questions about how the policies we develop in Washington will affect workers across the country. I am thrilled that he is bringing that talent to USTR and look forward to working with him.”
Jayme White, Deputy United States Trade Representative
Jayme White has spent two decades working to ensure American trade policy empowers American workers and promotes a sustainable environment. Mr. White grew up in Seattle, WA, where his family were union workers for Boeing. He went to Washington, DC to work for his hometown member of Congress in the House of Representatives, Representative Jim McDermott, who served on the Committee on Ways and Means, which has jurisdiction over international trade. Since then, he has played a role in nearly every major trade issue and trade legislation, over the last 20 years.
Mr. White has served in the US Senate since 2009, including as the chief trade advisor for the Senate Committee on Finance since 2014, under the leadership of Chairman Ron Wyden. During this tenure, White led efforts to level the playing field for American workers, through trade negotiations and agreements, and by reforming US trade laws to better respond to unfair foreign trade practices. In his role on the Finance Committee, he has long represented and advanced bipartisan US views to foreign trade leaders, and the outcomes of those efforts are evident in many trade agreements. Key provisions -- especially enforceable measures on labor and the environment -- found in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are a result of his efforts.
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