Senate Finance approves Froman to head trade office

“He now deserves that same support in the full Senate.  We need to quickly approve this nomination so Mr. Froman can hit the ground running and get to work.”

Froman’s nomination is sailing quickly through the upper chamber as Republicans and Democrats press for more aggressive action on the nation’s trade agenda.

The United States is in negotiations with 11 other nations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and is expected to start talks on a comprehensive high-stakes U.S.-European Union trade agreement next month. 

Negotiators are still aiming to complete the long-awaited TPP sometime this fall, even with the addition of Japan into the mix. 

Tokyo will sit at the table for the first time next month. U.S. trade officials are working on a parallel track to deal with other nagging issues in the bilateral relationship with Japan, including prying open its auto market for more imports. 

The U.S.-EU talks will begin next month as the world’s two largest trading partners embark on what will likely amount to a two-year mission toward an agreement on some tough issues including harmonizing the agricultural and regulatory sectors. 

During his hearing last week, Froman covered a broad swath of trade issues including the White House’s commitment to fast-track authority, the U.S. relationship with China along with global currency manipulation issues.