Lawmaker Warns About FTA with Philippines

Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., expressed concerns about potential trade negotiations with the Philippines after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer briefed lawmakers on the trade focus for the administration.Wyden focused his concerns on potential Trump administration trade talks with the government of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. Wyden said such talks would reward a government accused of killing more than 12,000 people as part of a crackdown on illegal drugs. Lighthizer met for more than an hour with Senate Finance Committee members of both parties on potential talks with the Philippines, Japan and the European Union (EU).Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Lighthizer did not give a timetable for notifying Congress on the start of formal negotiations.