WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative today released its Equity Action Plan, developed in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (EO 13985).
“USTR’s Equity Action Plan will help ensure our worker-centered trade policy emphasizes the values of equity, inclusion, and results,” Ambassador Katherine Tai said. “When our trade policy is more equitable, we help all of our workers, producers, and businesses grow, compete, and innovate in the global marketplace. USTR is proud to join departments and agencies across the Biden-Harris Administration in developing equitable policies that fulfill the President’s Executive Order and his vision for a federal government that improves the lives of every human being.”
The USTR Equity Action plan includes incorporating racial and gender equity into the following trade and investment-related policy actions:
- Annual public updates on strategies and activities;
- Strengthening data to consider and improve the distributional effects of trade;
- Advisory committee administration, including questions posed to cleared advisors, training, and guidance; and
- Expanded and consistent USTR engagement with underserved and marginalized communities.
In developing its Equity Action Plan, USTR applied an intersectional, interconnected, whole-of-agency approach. The related Presidential directives include the Executive Orders on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (EO 13985); Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (EO 13988); Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce (EO 14035); Advancing Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (EO 14031); the National Security Memorandum on Revitalizing America’s Foreign Policy and National Security Workforce, Institutions, and Partnerships; the National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality; Tribal Consultation and Strengthening the Nation-to-National Relationship; and Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World.
The full USTR Equity Action Plan can be viewed here.
###
