By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Editor
The final member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet won Senate approval Thursday.
Robert Lighthizer, 69, of Florida was confirmed as the next U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a bipartisan 82-14 vote.
Lighthizer, a lawyer, is familiar with both trade and politics. In the 1980s, Lighthizer served as deputy USTR under then President Ronald Reagan. He has also been a staffer for the Senate Trade committee.
Now that Lighthizer has been confirmed, the administration will likely move forward with the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Appointment of a USTR was the last step needed before the administration could file a 90-day notice to begin NAFTA renegotiations with Canada and Mexico.
If a 90-day notice is filed within the month, negotiations could begin as soon as this summer. It is unclear how long it could take to iron out details of the decades-old trade agreement.
“You’ve got political considerations in all three countries over how long this could take,” Dave Salmonsen, senior director of Congressional Relations for American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), said. “Usually trade negotiations are measured in years, not in months, but a lot of it depends upon the parties.”
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently said the administration is pledging to complete the process as quickly as possible, according to DTN/Progressive Farmer.
It is unclear whether NAFTA will be renegotiated as a trilateral trade deal or as a compilation of one-on-one trade deals between the three countries.
That will likely be decided by the administration and countries involved after the process has begun.
NAFTA will not be the only task on the newly-approved USTR’s radar.
During his confirmation hearings in mid-March, Lighthizer said his time practicing international trade law will help him in his new position. He said he agreed with the president the country should have an America first trade policy and the country can do better in negotiating trade agreements and in enforcing trade laws.
“I further believe we need an international trade system that functions the way it was negotiated and that the United States must be ready to work with like-minded trading partners to ensure fair trade and to encourage market efficiency,” Lighthizer said.
Lighthizer said he looks forward to working with all stakeholders to implement a policy that increases trade, grows the economy and makes trade freer and fairer.
The policy should also “improve the economic wellbeing of our workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses, large, medium and small,” Lighthizer said.
Lighthizer is expected to be sworn into the position in the coming days.