USTR names veteran congressional aide Jamila Thompson as new chief of staff

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai named veteran former congressional aide Jamila Thompson as her new chief of staff on Thursday as she seeks to maintain a robust trade agenda during the final months of President Joe Biden's term.

Thompson had been serving in the role in an acting capacity since January.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Tai's office has seen the departure of a number of key personnel in recent months, including Thompson's predecessor, Heather Hurlburt, who left the trade agency in January along with Deputy USTR Sarah Bianchi, who had managed Asian trade affairs. Another deputy USTR, Jayme White, who was in charge of European and Western Hemisphere trade matters, left in October 2023 to go into private practice.

Thompson will help fill those voids, with over 20 years of management experience in Congress. Before coming to USTR she previously served as chief of staff to the late U.S. Representative John Lewis of Georgia.

USTR failed to land a limited trade agreement with Indo-Pacific countries last November focused on regulatory, labor and environmental provisions, but it continues to negotiate a trade and investment partnership agreement with Kenya. Tai also met on Wednesday in London with her counterpart in Britain's new government, Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds.

CONTEXT

A considerable amount of Thompson's time in Congress coincides with Tai's tenure as chief trade counsel to the tax and trade-focused House Ways and Means Committee. With input from the offices of Lewis and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Tai helped renegotiate key labor-focused changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Lewis' support for the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement was considered important to its ratification in Congress.

KEY QUOTE:

"From our time together in Congress until now, Jamila has been the epitome of wise counsel, sound judgment, and invaluable compassion," Tai said in a statement. "Jamila’s wealth of experience, including as a senior staff member to the late Congressman John Lewis, will help anchor our work in the principles of fairness and equity for all."

(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Jonathan Oatis)