USTR: Shutdown will halt much of agency’s work

Much of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s work “will come to a grinding halt” if Congress lets appropriations lapse, a USTR spokesperson said on Monday after USTR Katherine Tai said the agency was preparing contingency plans in the event of a government shutdown. The spokesperson said in a statement that that agency would have to scale back efforts even on key initiatives while pausing a significant portion of the agency’s work. “In the event of a government shutdown,...