Forced labor 'crudest example' of problems in global trade: USTR nominee Tai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Katherine Tai, President Joe Biden's nominee as the next U.S. Trade Representative, on Thursday called for a strategic rethink of global trade policies that had failed to parlay increased trade activity into advances for workers and the environment.

Tai told her confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee that she would make an assessment of issues such as China's use of forced labor in the Xinjiang province a top priority.

"The use of force labor is probably the crudest example of the race to the bottom" in global trade," Tai said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)