USTR will only have about 30% of its staff due to the shutdown as China trade deadline approaches

The U.S. trade representative said Monday that it ran out of funding and would function with about 30 percent of its staff even as the office spearheads high-stakes trade talks with China ahead of an early March deadline. The USTR said it would continue with trade negotiations, despite the extreme reduction in head count as a result of the partial government shutdown.