ABU DHABI – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai participated in the third day of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13).
In the morning, Ambassador Tai participated in Working Session 3: Dispute Settlement Reform, where she recognized the work done to date and reiterated the United States’ commitment to continue discussions on dispute resolution reform.
Ambassador Tai also participated in the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) panel on Transforming the WTO to Deliver Social Justice, where she emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration’s support for a worker-centered trade policy and the promotion of labor rights.
On February 27 and 28, Ambassador Tai participated in bilateral meetings with Taiwanese Minister without Portfolio John Deng, Colombia's Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism Germán Umaña, the Dominican Republic’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, and SMEs Víctor Bisonó, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Udo Philipp.
Ambassador Tai and Minister Deng had a constructive dialogue regarding bilateral issues and issues pertaining to the WTO. Ambassador Tai also thanked Minister Deng for Taiwan’s partnership, pledging to continue working together on the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, as Taiwan transitions into their new government.
Ambassador Tai and Minister Umaña discussed a wide range of issues, agreeing to work more closely to craft trade policy at both the bilateral and multilateral levels that serve the interests of more people, including by improving environmental standards, promoting labor rights, and furthering the interests of workers and small and medium-sized farmers.
In Ambassador Tai’s meeting with Minister Bisonó, both acknowledged their countries’ significant, longstanding relationship and discussed future areas of collaboration, including on labor and environmental policy and supply chain resilience. Ambassador Tai expressed her eagerness to work more closely with the Dominican Republic through the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (Americas Partnership).
During her meeting with Minister Goyal, Ambassador Tai thanked him for hosting the United States-India Trade Policy Forum in January and acknowledged the significant progress made in the trade relationship between the United States and India over the course of the last year. They also shared views on the ministerial conference.
Ambassador Tai and State Secretary Philipp discussed WTO reform priorities and recognized the immense importance of the two countries’ transatlantic cooperation.
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