Key USMCA negotiator Todd picked as US trade chief of staff

Nora Todd, who helped craft key changes to the update of the North American Free Trade Agreement as a top Senate aide, has been picked as the chief of staff at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

“She believes in the dignity of work and will serve honorably as USTR Katherine Tai’s chief of staff,” according to Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, for whom she worked as chief economic adviser. “For too long, our trade policies have prioritized corporate interests at the expense of American workers. As the Biden-Harris administration works to pursue a trade policy to level the playing field and put workers first, I am encouraged to know Nora will be at the center of those efforts.”

Todd started the new position Wednesday, according to an email she sent to colleagues that was seen by Bloomberg. She didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Brown last year described Todd as having done “unrelenting work” on the trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico that went into effect in July. The agreement won Democratic support after changes for Mexico’s labor system demanded by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and engineered by her chief trade lawyer Tai, now President Joe Biden’s intended nominee for USTR. Todd worked closely with Tai on those changes.