(NAFB) – U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is in Europe this week for negotiations with her European counterparts.

Tai says she will take part in “intense negotiations” to resolve the 16-year dispute over Boeing and Airbus subsidies and find a path forward on products like steel and aluminum. The talks will also give the U.S. and European Union a chance to champion the rights and interests of workers in those industries while also creating new standards to combat the harmful industrial policies of China and other countries that undermine the ability of other countries to compete.

The ambassador says trade is essential to a functioning global economy, but it’s clear that past promises made to workers on trade were not kept. The consequences for workers who lost their jobs to unfairly traded imports created a “trust gap” with the public about free trade.

Tai says based on conversations so far, she’s “optimistic that we will be successful.”

Tai made her remarks last week during an AFL-CIO Town Hall.