Greer Defends Tariffs

President Trump’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative was challenged repeatedly at his Senate confirmation hearing last week over Trump’s tariff wars and their harm to farmers and consumers.  Jamieson Greer, the former USTR Chief of Staff during Trump's first term, came under swift and even ‘hot’ questioning by Finance Committee senators over the President’s newest tariff war with Canada, Mexico, and China.  Oregon senator Ron Wyden, the top panel Democrat, told Greer that Trump governs by “whim” and wanted to know if Greer would even be calling the shots on trade.

“And frankly, my top priority today is to figure out who in hell in the Trump Administration is going to be in charge of trade?,” Wyden said.

Pointing to others including the Commerce and Treasury secretaries, and by extension, Trump himself.  But Greer defended the President’s use of universal tariffs, even for non-trade purposes, even if farmers and others get hurt in the process.

“It’s important to remember that when we have trade agreements, they all contain an exception for measures related to essential security. And if dealing with illegal migration of criminals or dealing with fentanyl or issues like that come up, this is very clearly an issue of essential security.

Still, Greer said he’d seek new markets for agriculture.

“In my view, American agricultural producers are the most competitive in the world and they need to have markets commensurate with that competitiveness. And to me, that means we need to go and gain market access.”

And he said he wants to level the playing against high tariffs by China and India.  Greer said Trump’s trade policy already directs USTR to review existing trade deals, which he’d do with the China Phase I agreement.  He added he plans to revisit USMCA as that deal calls for next year.

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