RICHARD E. NEAL MASSACHUSETTS, CHAIRMAN
Congress of the United States
JOHN LEWIS, GEORGIA LLOYD DOGGETT, TEXAS MIKE THOMPSON, CALIFORNIA JOHN B. LARSON, CONNECTICUT EARL BLUMENAUER, OREGON RON KIND, WISCONSIN BILL PASCRELL JR., NEW JERSEY DANNY K. DAVIS, ILLINOIS LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ, CALIFORNIA BRIAN HIGGINS, NEW YORK TERRI A. SEWELL, ALABAMA SUZAN DELBENE, WASHINGTON JUDY CHU, CALIFORNIA GWEN MOORE, WISCONSIN DAN KILDEE, MICHIGAN BRENDAN BOYLE, PENNSYLVANIA DON BEYER, VIRGINIA DWIGHT EVANS, PENNSYLVANIA BRAD SCHNEIDER, ILLINOIS TOM SUOZZI, NEW YORK JIMMY PANETTA, CALIFORNIA STEPHANIE MURPHY, FLORIDA JIMMY GOMEZ, CALIFORNIA STEVEN HORSFORD, NEVADA
U.S. House of Representatives COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 1102 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
(202) 225-3625
Washington, D.C 20515-0348 http://waysandmeans.house.gov
December 9, 2020
KEVIN BRADY TEXAS, RANKING MEMBER DEVIN NUNES, CALIFORNIA VERN BUCHANAN, FLORIDA ADRIAN SMITH, NEBRASKA KENNY MARCHANT, TEXAS TOM REED, NEW YORK MIKE KELLY, PENNSYLVANIA GEORGE HOLDING, NORTH CAROLINA JASON SMITH, MISSOURI TOM RICE, SOUTH CAROLINA DAVID SCHWEIKERT, ARIZONA JACKIE WALORSKI, INDIANA DARIN LAHOOD, ILLINOIS BRAD R. WENSTRUP, OHIO JODEY ARRINGTON, TEXAS DREW FERGUSON, GEORGIA RON ESTES, KANSAS GARY ANDRES, MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR
BRANDON CASEY, MAJORITY STAFF DIRECTOR
The Honorable Robert Lighthizer United States Trade Representative Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 600 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20508 Dear Ambassador Lighthizer: We write to share once again our concerns regarding the Administration’s failure to consult with Congress and the obscure motivation regarding its eleventh-hour trade negotiations with Ecuador. On November 19, USTR issued a statement outlining the United States and Ecuador’s intention to conclude a negotiation regarding certain trade rules and transparency before the end of this year. 1 These negotiations appear to have only recently been initiated, yet you concluded an agreement with your Ecuadorian counterparts yesterday, December 8. Thus, nearly the whole negotiation, if not its entirety, was conducted after the U.S. presidential election occurred and in less than two months. We support active engagement with Ecuador, but the manner, speed, and timing of this approach is deeply troubling. Ecuador is an important trading partner of the United States and is a key economic, diplomatic, and strategic actor in Latin America. Proactive work with Ecuador is important, but such work must be deliberative, thoughtful, and take into account the wide range of bilateral issues between the countries and the priorities of the U.S. government. For instance, Ecuador has a long history of deforestation and engaging in harmful fishing practices, including illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. Ecuador’s alarming deforestation rate predominantly caused by agroindustrial monocultures and logging is of great concern. Further, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has consistently highlighted Ecuador’s failure to meet its multilateral environment agreement commitments by not conducting sufficient investigations and effectively responding to repeat https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2020/november/joint-statement-united-statesecuador-trade-and-investment-council. 1
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offender fishing vessels. 2 While foreign fishing vessels, particularly Chinese flagged vessels, play a role in the IUU fishing activity, the Ecuadorian industry also employs deeply concerning practices itself. 3 Trade terms with Ecuador also raise concerns regarding the protection of labor rights. The Correa Administration had rolled back collective bargaining protections for the public sector and passed labor reforms that limit freedom of association rights more generally. The Moreno Administration has not changed these policies and itself has passed legislation that allows employers to unilaterally opt out of their contractual obligations to workers, cut salaries, and reduce work hours. Ecuador has not effectively enforced labor rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining despite ongoing employer violations, and unionization in many public sector jobs is prohibited. Furthermore, Ecuador has not effectively enforced laws prohibiting forced labor and child labor, particularly in the informal sector. Though Ecuador has taken steps to begin to reduce child labor in the formal sector, child labor persists in bananas, bricks, flowers and gold, as well as forced and child labor in certain agricultural sectors. 4 Without adequate resources and consistent enforcement, these labor conditions will continue to undermine global labor standards. The negotiations with Ecuador presented a clear opportunity, and leverage, to address these longstanding issues in some form. A negotiation cannot simply neglect these critically important issues. A negotiation with Ecuador also presents numerous other questions and challenges, including Ecuador’s unique relationship with China. Ecuador currently owes $5 billion in debt and just recently was forced to delay a $474 million debt payment to China. 5 China has funded infrastructure projects of questionable value or utility and China now maintains considerable sway over Ecuador’s oil exports. 6 A negotiation with Ecuador must also take into account Ecuador’s precarious position in relation to China and support developing alternative economic partners for Ecuador. Finally, negotiations with Ecuador must also take into consideration the treatment of basic human rights in Ecuador. In that regard, we note our concern regarding the Ecuadorian government’s response to protests last year in which security forces used excessive force, arbitrarily detained demonstrators, and led to the loss of human life. 7 Of note, the austerity measures that led to the protests are linked to Ecuador’s inability to make payments on its Chinese debts, which only highlights the need for an effective and deliberative whole-ofgovernment approach to negotiations with Ecuador. Consultations with Congress would have presented the appropriate forum to grapple with these issues and the ability to work together to develop an effective approach to negotiations https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/foreign/international-affairs/identification-iuu-fishing-activities. https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2020/11/21/ecuador-a-victim-of-illegal-fishing-is-also-a-culprit. 4 https://dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/ecuador 5 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ecuador-signs-deal-delay-474-191313080.html. 6 It Doesn’t Matter if Ecuador Can Afford This Dam. China Still Gets Paid. - The New York Times (nytimes.com). 7 https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/06/ecuador-lessons-2019-protests. 2 3
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with Ecuador. Unfortunately, those consultations did not take place until the Administration had already made clear that it was pursuing a particular agreement that appears not to address any of the issues highlighted in this letter. The Administration’s failure to adequately consult with Congress is particularly concerning given that the entirety of the negotiations took place after the U.S. presidential election, which raises additional concerns about the process and motivations behind this negotiation. In our view, the Administration’s failure to consult Congress is against its own interests. Lasting and meaningful trade agreements rely on Congressional input and support. We urge the Administration to immediately engage with Congress to develop a negotiating strategy that effectively responds to the key issues in the U.S.-Ecuador relationship. We look forward to your prompt reply. Sincerely,
______________________________ The Honorable Richard E. Neal Chairman
______________________________ The Honorable Earl Blumenauer Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade
________________________ The Honorable Mike Thompson
______________________________ The Honorable Ron Kind
______________________________ The Honorable Bill Pascrell, Jr.
______________________________ The Honorable Danny K. Davis
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______________________________ The Honorable Brian Higgins
______________________________ The Honorable Terri A. Sewell
______________________________ The Honorable Suzan K. DelBene
______________________________ The Honorable Judy Chu
______________________________ The Honorable Daniel T. Kildee
______________________________ The Honorable Brendan F. Boyle
______________________________ The Honorable Donald S. Beyer Jr.
______________________________ The Honorable Dwight Evans
______________________________ The Honorable Bradley S. Schneider
______________________________ The Honorable Thomas R. Suozzi
______________________________ The Honorable Jimmy Panetta
______________________________ The Honorable Jimmy Gomez
______________________________ The Honorable Steven Horsford
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