Bunning blocks USTR nominees

Bunning blocks USTR nominees

Bunning

      Three weeks after standing in the way of an emergency bill to sustain unemployment benefits and highway programs for an extra 30 days, Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky is blocking confirmation of two Obama administration nominees for trade-related posts.
      Michael Punke is President Obama’s choice to be U.S. ambassador and permanent representative to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, and Islam Siddiqui has been selected to be chief agriculture negotiator for the Office of U.S. Trade Representative. They would play a key role as the United States works with other nations on a global trade pact through the ongoing Doha round of talks.
      The hold is the result of a beef with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who Bunning wants to take action against Canada for a law passed last year that bans flavored tobacco.
      The law “unfairly discriminates” against a type of tobacco commonly grown in Kentucky, said Mike Reynard, Bunning's press secretary.
      Bunning has asked the USTR to initiate a complaint in the World Trade Organization to force Canada to follow global trade rules. ' Eric Kulisch