On his first day in office, President Biden signed the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (EO 13985). This Executive Order outlines a whole-of-Government mandate to advance equity for all Americans through a comprehensive approach to all Government practices, including: management; policymaking (including through regulation and guidance); procurement, contracting, and budgeting; delivery of benefits and services; and data collection, reporting, and use, to tangibly improve the lives of every person across the nation, in particular, those who have been underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has the primary responsibility for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy, overseeing trade negotiations with other countries, combatting unfair trading practices, and enforcing U.S. trade laws. As the Biden-Harris Administration develops and implements economic policy towards better, resilient, equitable outcomes, USTR designs and advances worker-centered, inclusive trade and investment policy that strengthens the nation’s competitiveness and expands the benefits of trade.
Consistent with EO 13985, USTR assembled a lead Equity Team that includes administrative, policy, research, and legal professionals to complete different components of the agency’s equity assessment. The Equity Team invited interested staff across the agency to join different subcommittees on targeted issues (e.g., gender policy and trade; equity and trade data, etc.).
To fulfill its mission, USTR’s resulting Equity Action Plan directs all agency components to consider the principles of equity in every aspect of their work. This includes not only consistently raising and increasing equity awareness, but also the composition of stakeholder groups during consultations; incorporating equity into conversations with trading partners; identifying opportunities for United States leadership in advancing equity in trade; and expanding equity to all dimensions of trade policy.
In ensuring that U.S. trade and investment policy benefits working people, advancing racial and gender equity will be embedded into the very foundation of the United States’ trade and investment policy goals and objectives.
Equity and Trade Strategic Resources:
- USTR Equity Action Plan
- 2024 Trade Policy Agenda and 2023 Annual Report
- 2023 Trade Policy Agenda and 2022 Annual Report
- 2022 Trade Policy Agenda Annual Report
- 2021 Trade Policy Agenda Annual Report
- Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Strategic Plan
- Investigation on the Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on Workers
Recent USTR Equity-Related Activities:
- In Historic First, USTR Travels to All Fifty States
- USTR Seeks Applications for Appointment of Indigenous Representatives to the United States Observer Delegation to IPETCA
- Readout of Ambassador Katherine Tai’s Meeting with Ministers from CARICOM Member States
- Americas Partnership Countries Highlight Resources for Inclusive Trade and Small Business
- USTR Releases Summaries from U.S. – Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations
- United States Granted Observer Status in the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA)
- USTR Seeks Public Comment on Promoting Supply Chain Resilience
- USTR, Department of Commerce, Small Business Administration and UK Government Convene the 7th United States-United Kingdom Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise Dialogue in Indio, California with Tribal Nations
- USTR, Department of Labor Join Interagency Delegation to Promote Quality Employment for Central American Women
- USTR Requests Comments on Advancing Inclusive, Worker-Centered Trade Policy
- Joint Statement: U.S.-Pakistan Efforts in Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment
- Ambassador Tai Discusses Equity, Women’s Empowerment and IPEF With Local Leaders in Bali
- Joint Statement on the U.S./UK Dialogues on the Future of Atlantic Trade
- USTR Announces Intention to Join the Joint Declaration on the Advancement of Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment Within Trade
- Readout of Ambassador Katherine Tai's Roundtable Discussion with Women Leaders in the Textile Industry
- Ambassador Katherine Tai’s Taped Remarks at the National Action Network’s 2021 Virtual Conference
- Blog: “We Build Communities”: A Trip to Kentucky and Tennessee
- Blog: AGOA for the People
- Blog: From the Heartland of Our Nation’s Fabric
- Blog: On the Frontier of Inclusive, Worker-Centered Trade Policy: The Northern Rockies
- Blog: It Takes a Village: A Trip to Steel Country
Additional White House Equity Resources
