Reprinted from The Wall Street Journal by Bob Davis on May 9, 2021.
The Biden administration plans to name Thea Lee, a former AFL-CIO trade official, to head the Labor Department’s international affairs division, according to people familiar with the appointment.
Lee, who most recently served as president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank that often critiques free trade policies, is slated to become the deputy undersecretary for international labor affairs. In that job, she will oversee the bureau that investigates labor rights, forced labor and child trafficking around the globe.
Spokesmen for the Labor Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The appointment will give Lee a role in enforcing the labor rights provisions of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, negotiated under the Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. …
