Congressional negotiators included a provision in the bipartisan spending bill that funds the federal government through September to pave the way for Robert Lighthizer to be confirmed as the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
The waiver was necessary because in 1995 Congress barred individuals who represented foreign governments in trade disputes with the United States from serving as the USTR. Lighthizer did work on behalf of foreign governments in the 1980s and 1990s, representing Brazil in an ethanol trade dispute with the United States as well as advising an electronics trade group tied to the Chinese government.
The one-paragraph waiver in the 1,665-page spending bill that passed this week does not name Lighthizer specifically but says the waiver “applies only to the first person appointed as United States Trade Representative after the date of enactment of this act and to no other person.”
The full Senate must still confirm Lighthizer’s nomination, but he has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. The Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously to support his confirmation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has called him a “staunch advocate for American Industry.”
The waiver for Lighthizer was part of a bipartisan compromise that also added a measure preserving health and pension benefits for retired coal miners.
