White House reorganization proposal raises concerns among trade advocates

President Obama's plan to streamline several agencies within the executive branch landed with a thud among trade advocates on Friday.

Lawmakers and businesses groups expressed concern that the White House plan to merge a number of trade and commerce agencies, especially the U.S. Trade Representative's office, could stymie trade and job creation. 

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) expressed in a joint statement that "while we welcome the ability to reduce duplication and streamline government services, we are concerned about the impact that the president’s proposal could have on the ability of the United States to aggressively open new markets to American-made goods and services and create U.S. jobs."

Taking the USTR's office, "one of the most efficient agencies that is a model of how government can and should work, and making it just another corner of a new bureaucratic behemoth would hurt American exports and hinder American job creation," they said.  


The president is proposing to merge six trade and commerce agencies — the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, the USTR, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

"We certainly need to look for ways to reduce government and cut taxes," the lawmakers said, "but not at the expense of programs that are helping businesses, ranchers and farmers create jobs and expand our economy.”

They called the USTR "nimble, lean and effective" and said time and again it "delivers on its mission and creates jobs here at home."

Ways and Means Committee ranking member Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) said it is important to remember that Congress established the USTR within the executive office of the president, "because our trade objectives were not adequately negotiated, implemented or emphasized when trade negotiators and enforcers were part of a broader agency.”

The USTR leads global trade negotiations and is wrapping up final details on the implementation of free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. Trade officials also are working on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, among several other trade agreements. 

Obama asked Congress on Friday to reinstate authority — last used by former President Reagan — to merge the six trade and commerce agencies as part of a broader effort to make the federal government "leaner, smarter and more consumer-friendly." 

Concern extended into business groups, which agree with lawmakers that the change could hamper trade expansion and job growth. 

National Foreign Trade Council President Bill Reinsch said the plans to consolidate USTR "could interfere with efforts to engage key stakeholders, including the U.S. business community, and to maximize trade, economic growth and job creation.” 

“Congress has historically been reluctant to combine USTR with other functions, preferring to have our chief trade negotiator concentrate on negotiating rather than be burdened with broader programmatic responsibilities," he said. 

Coalition for Employment Through Exports President John Hardy Jr. said that any efforts beside merging the agencies into one building "will most likely result in reduced responsiveness to the needs of U.S. exporters."

“In our experience, we have found that smaller, more nimble agencies are better able to respond to the needs of American business, a reality that this proposal seems to ignore," he said.