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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as his Commerce Department secretary and former union official and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as Labor secretary, his transition team said late on Thursday.
FILE PHOTO: Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo answers a phone call during the National Governors Association Summer Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., July 15, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
The two Democrats will head sprawling agencies that will shape Biden’s agenda on climate change, technology, investment, the minimum wage and other workforce rules and policies.
Together with other top officials, they will “usher in a new wave of worker power, help struggling small businesses recover and re-open, and put Americans back to work by creating millions of good-paying union jobs,” the transition team said.
Biden picks Rhode Island Gov Gina Raimondo as commerce secretary theglobeandmail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theglobeandmail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WASHINGTON - President-elect Joe Biden has picked Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to lead the Commerce Department, helping set trade policy and promote U.S.
The Biden administration’s stance on international trade will likely mark a significant shift away from President Donald Trump’s heavy-on-tariffs approach. Trump slapped tariffs on Chinese steel and other goods to punish Beijing for what the administration said were unfair currency practices and potential national security threats. Those moves were largely opposed by U.S. allies, including Canada.
Biden opposes Chinese tariffs and has promised to improve U.S. relationships with countries around the hemisphere and globe. But he hasn’t indicated that undoing the tariffs will be a top priority. Instead Biden has promised to oversee an aggressive “Buy American” campaign that would use federal funds to purchase $400 billion of U.S.-made goods and spend another $300 billion on new research and development from domestic technology firms.