Former U.S. trade representative applauds Biden for proposing 15% global minimum corporate tax  

Michael Froman, former U.S. trade representative in the Obama administration, applauded the Biden administration for considering a 15% global minimum corporate tax.

Froman, who served as trade representative from 2013-2017, is now the vice chairman and president for strategic growth at Mastercard.

"We pay billions in dollars of taxes every year, we believe it's appropriate for companies and individuals to pay the taxes that they owe. And I think I give credit to the Biden administration, Secretary Yellen, for taking a discussion that's been around for a long time and advancing it really relatively quickly to an important new threshold of agreement this week with the G-7," Froman said during a discussion Monday organized by the Global Situation Room.

"From here, it's got to go and be brought into the G-20 and even to countries beyond the G-20 who may fall into that category of low tax jurisdictions. And then in many cases, including our own, a lot will depend on domestic legislation and domestic legislative processes," he also said.

Froman continued, saying, "From our perspective, the most important thing is that this be done in a sequence that doesn't put U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage while recognizing that ultimately ensuring that companies do pay taxes and are paying their fair share is a priority."

G-7 finance ministers have reportedly endorsed the U.S. proposal for corporations to pay a minimum 15% tax on their earnings. 

When asked if he supports the 15% global minimum tax, Froman replied, "I think this is an important agreement. I think now the details need to be fleshed out. We need to make sure that it is broadly applied and is sequenced in a way that doesn't put U.S. companies at a disadvantage."