WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today delivered remarks at a meeting the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. In her remarks, Ambassador Tai highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing work to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities across the United States. Ambassador Tai also applauded the Commissioners for their tireless work since February 2022 to deliver meaningful improvements for AANHPI communities.
Ambassador Tai’s remarks as delivered are below:
Thank you, so much Secretary Becerra, for that very kind introduction and for those deeply thoughtful remarks and the recounting of all the accomplishments of this Commission.
Let me just begin by thanking you for being the most wonderful co-host. I had the honor and the privilege of working for the Secretary when he was a Congressman on the Ways and Means Committee for many years in the House. And to have this opportunity to co-chair the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, I'm really grateful to have had this opportunity to do this thing with you. You have been a wonderful mentor and a great friend, and thank you for hosting the White House Initiative. This entire institution within your agency, the HHS Department, really, I'm very, very grateful to you and everything that they've been able to do here is really because of the support that HHS has provided.
Thank you for everything that all of you have done here, everyone in the room, and I want to share that with everybody who's tuning in also. This truly is about building community, and it may start here in the administration and in the commission in the White House Initiative, but the point is to connect the resources of the federal government, our attention to all of our fellow Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Before I get started, I also wanted to say some words, congratulating Krystal on an incredible almost two and a half years of achievement. I want to recognize your dedication, your hard work, your commitment. And acknowledge what Secretary Becerra said which is every one of us has to do our part. Your part has been enormous.
So, congratulations and I know going off to Hawaii is really going back to Hawaii for you. To go back to your community, so that you can be directly engaged there. I hope you feel as much pride and gratification, that I know I feel from the work that you've done and from the work
that we've been able to do together.
I am really truly glad that President Biden is appointing you to serve as a commissioner as well. And so, I look forward to seeing you on the other side when you've officially transitioned to swearing you in very, very soon.
I also want to thank Helen and welcome her as the incoming Executive Director for the White House Initiative. Helen, you've already been on this WHIAANHPI, PACAANHPI journey all across America and it's been such a joy to get to know you. We are very lucky to have you on board.
And I just see from the two of you how you interact and the fact that you're sitting next to each other, that we are going to have a very seamless transition.
And of course, thank you to the entire WHIAANHPI staff, for your important work day in and day out.
When I travel around the country, I talk about the two jobs that I have. One is as the U.S. Trade Representative and the other one is as Co-Chair of the President's Advisory Commission and the work that we have been doing as part of this initiative.
It's incredibly meaningful and honestly, I think that this is one of those areas where work that we do here in Washington, all the convenings that you have made happen are changing lives, are sparking that startup and entrepreneurial spirit in America, in our communities and also really energizing the participation in our democracy. Really, really important parts of belonging here in America for our different communities.
To our new Commissioners—congratulations, and welcome! I am incredibly grateful to each of you, and thank you in advance for your service.
This is a very important time for all Americans, but especially our AA and NHPI communities, and all of you know that you all have been indispensable partners in our fight to advance equity, justice, and opportunity.
It’s hard to believe, but we launched this Commission back in February of 2022.
And we have accomplished so much since then. Commission meetings all over the country, and I even had the honor of hosting one here in Washington, D.C. at my agency, USTR, which is smaller, less glamourous than this room. Much smaller than HHS, but really meant the world to me to host you where I show up to work every day.
And you have approved an astounding 83 recommendations to send to the President. This is a tremendous and is a testimony to your hard work and dedication, especially through our six subcommittees.
Now this is the final meeting this year, and I may say this every time we meet, but I really cannot emphasize it enough—your work is making a difference in people’s lives every single day.
At the last Commission meeting we had the pilot for this, but just think about the fact that, because of your recommendations, your persistence, the strength of your voice we have live interpretation for this meeting right now, in seven different languages spoken by our communities. Again, I think that is demonstrating that we are doing things as we go. So, let's just celebrate that.
I don’t want to take this for granted.
So much of what happens in Washington can seem opaque and inaccessible. That really shouldn’t be the case, so this is one way of fixing that, that language access.
Our discussions here are being streamed, and that is also part of the access to the conversations that happen here.
As the U.S. Trade Representative, my other job, it’s been my priority to expand the table, so that those that have been traditionally left out of the conversation in trade policy are seen and heard, and their priorities are reflected in our work.
And we’re taking historic steps to make inclusivity a cornerstone of how we do trade.
For example, I know the Secretary talked about the intersections between the commission and initiative work with our work in our other jobs and at USTR, I want to let you know that the work that we've been doing here has deeply inspired us to bring the setting of the table, this widening of the aperture in policy making, very specifically to what we do in trade. So, I want you to know that in our negotiations on a new trade agreement with Kenya, and the countries of the Indo Pacific, we’re working on developing an entire new chapter that is dedicated to inclusivity, to ensure that the benefits of trade are shared by everyone across our societies. And it turns out that it's not just a priority for us here in the United States, but it is increasingly a priority for so many of our trading partners to ensure the benefits of our economic policies are widely shared within our countries.
We’re also using trade to empower workers and smaller businesses, and I think this is especially important to AA and NHPI workers and businesses. Small businesses are the engines of our economy, so we need to make sure our trade policies are designed to work for them.
That’s why the White House Initiative’s Economic Summits are so important and have been so tremendously successful. They are a way for our government to work hand-in-hand with our communities, to equip them to succeed and thrive.
It was such a pleasure to join the eight Economic Summit that just happened in Irvine last month. It was a wonderful way to bookend because I was also there for the first economic summit in Philadelphia at the beginning of the previous year. It’s a really an innovative way of using economic policy as a force for good and to bring tangible change and progress. And I want to acknowledge the commitment and the participation by our Small Business Administrator, Isabella Guzman and her entire team supporting this effort as well.
Obviously, our work goes beyond just trade.
I want all of you to know that our entire Administration has your back. From President Biden and Vice President Harris all the way on down, we fight with you and for you.
I know you’ll hear more from Erika and Neera later today on how we’re doing this from the White House perspective but know that our communities’ well-being and empowerment is front and center for our Administration.
We’ve come very far everyone, but we will go further, and we have further to go.
Whether it’s on inclusion and growing economic opportunity, or combatting hate and violence, or advancing educational excellence and improving health and well-being, or rebuilding our immigration system—there’s always more mountains to climb and more walls to break down.
But while these are challenges, they are not insurmountable—because we’re in this together.
Last week, I was honored to attend the first-ever White House Chuseok celebration here in this building. As I watched very moving performances, including one by a children’s choir, I was reminded of why we’re doing what we’re doing.
It’s for them, the next generation.
Your work today is building their tomorrow. Let’s remember that.
Thank you again, everyone.
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