U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told U.S. senators on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's administration will not change tactics on tariffs in the near term and warned that some pain for businesses will be necessary to bring home manufacturing jobs.
During a sometimes tense U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing, Greer said higher across-the-board tariff rates on 57 trading partners from the European Union to China and Brazil would go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, days after a 10% tariff was imposed on all other countries.
"The president has been clear, again, that he's not doing exemptions or exceptions in the near term," Greer said.
Past tariff carveouts created a "Swiss cheese" approach full of holes that failed to slow the growth of a $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit, he said.
TRADE BARRIER TALKS
The Trump administration is negotiating with more than 50 countries, but Greer said that to gain relief, trading partners will need to lower their tariff and non-tariff barriers to make U.S. trade more balanced.
China has retaliated, prompting Trump to escalate U.S. tariffs to 104% on all Chinese goods since he took office.
Greer said it was "good news" that most trading partners have chosen not to retaliate.
"Other countries have signaled that they'd like to find a path toward reciprocity. China has not said that and we will see where that goes," Greer said.
He declined to provide a timeline for Trump's trade talks, but said USTR and other countries are working quickly, including over nights and weekends.
"The trade deficit has been decades in the making and it's not going to be solved overnight," he said.
TARIFF FRUSTRATION
Greer is the first Trump trade official to face Congress since Trump launched the first salvos of his trade war in February on China. Since then it expanded to Canada, Mexico, steel, aluminum and autos. Then, Trump announced broad global tariffs last week.
Democrats vented their frustration at Greer over the duties. Some Republicans from farm states also criticized the tariffs.
Democrat Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico pushed Greer to concede that the tariffs would hurt families and businesses through price hikes and stock market losses. Greer disagreed and said his concerns were more with Main Street than Wall Street.
"We can't keep doing the same thing we always did, and if companies are having trouble adjusting their supply chains, which I'm very sensitive to, we have to deal," Greer said.
Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said he was skeptical about the administration's decision to impose tariffs on allies, noting that 4 million Americans each year turned 65 and they were seeing their retirement savings dwindle daily.
"I'm just trying to figure out whose throat I get to choke if it's wrong," he said, questioning the blanket approach.
Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, raised his voice when questioning Greer about why the U.S. hit top ally Australia with a 10% tariff. The U.S. has a free trade agreement, and a rare trade surplus -- with Australia.
"The idea that we are going to whack friend and foe alike...is both insulting the Australians, undermines our national security and frankly makes us not a good partner," Warner said.
Greer criticized Australia for restrictions on American beef over mad cow disease, and said that with fewer trade barriers the U.S. would be "running up the score" on Australia with an even bigger trade surplus.
