Today, Wednesday November 15, 2023 in San Francisco, California Ambassador Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representtative for the President of the United States, hosted a livestream meeting with Indigenous representatives from all the economies that are party to the Indigenous Peoples Economic Trade and Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA). Current IPETCA members include Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Taiwan. You can see a recording of today’s meeting here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/pALixmMpFIY?si=HnW4YUHPRHWLvyCm
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai poses for her official portrait Thursday, May 6, 2021, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Stephanie Chasez)
Ambassador Katherine Tai was sworn in as the 19th United States Trade Representative on March 18, 2021. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, Ambassador Tai is the principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on U.S. trade policy. Prior to her unanimous Senate confirmation, Ambassador Tai spent most of her career in public service focusing on international economic diplomacy, monitoring, and enforcement. She previously served as Chief Trade Counsel and Trade Subcommittee Staff Director for the House Ways and Means Committee in the United States Congress. In this capacity, Ambassador Tai played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. trade law, negotiations strategies, and bilateral and multilateral agreements, including the recently re-negotiated United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Ambassador Tai is an experienced World Trade Organization (WTO) litigator. She previously developed and tried cases for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, eventually becoming the Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement. Before transitioning to federal service, she practiced law in the private sector, clerked for district judges, and taught English in Guangzhou, China. Ambassador Tai earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She is fluent in Mandarin.
In this photo are some of the members of the group that conducted Indigenous to Indigenous discussions on behalf of the Indigenous People of Canada. Led by Wayne Garnons-Williams, the group presented Canadian Minister of Trade, Mary Ng, with our commissioned IPETCA wampum belt.
June 23, 2023, marked the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Indigenous People’s Economic Trade and Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA) by Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan. In February 2021, these four partners and other APEC economies began developing the Arrangement with a focus on the economic empowerment of Indigenous peoples in the Asia- Pacific region. On December 10, 2021, the Arrangement was concluded and APEC members were invited to join. On June 22, 2022 Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Taiwan endorsed the IPETCA. This new and innovative plurilateral Arrangement creates a framework for economies and Indigenous peoples to work together to increase trade and economic cooperation. You can read the text of the Arrangement here: Indigenous-Peoples-Economic-and-Trade-Cooperation-Arrangement-IPETCA-FINAL-VERSION.pdf (mfat.govt.nz)
