By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jamieson Greer, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. trade representative, will argue for a pragmatic U.S. trade policy focused on rebuilding U.S. manufacturing and shoring up supply chains in his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday.
Greer, a trade lawyer and veteran of Trump’s first-term trade war against China, will tell members of the Senate Finance Committee that resilient supply chains are critical for U.S. economic and national security, according to excerpts of his prepared testimony.
Greer served as chief of staff to Trump’s former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the architect of Trump’s first-term tariffs on some $370 billion worth of Chinese imports and renegotiation of the North American free trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
Thursday’s hearing offers the first chance for jittery markets to hear Greer speak about trade after a rollercoaster two weeks of tariff actions and Trump moves against Colombia, Mexico, Canada and China.
Only a 10% additional tariff on Chinese goods has taken effect. The tariffs on Colombia were dropped after its president agreed to accept flights of deportees, and the tariffs on Canada and Mexico have been delayed to March 1.
The churn has left some lawmakers frustrated, given that Congress has the constitutional authority to set trade policy.
In his prepared remarks, Greer said efforts to reorient trade policy in Trump’s first term had bipartisan support and he looked forward to working “in close consultation with Congress.”
Greer said an active and pragmatic trade policy is critical to restore lower inflation and unemployment and higher real median household income seen in Trump’s last administration.
“If the United States does not have a robust manufacturing base and innovation economy, it will have little in the way of hard power to deter conflict and protect Americans,” he said.
If confirmed, Greer said he would pursue trade policies that support jobs that pay American workers well and ensure supply chain resilience, which he said was critical to U.S. economic and national security.
“We need resilience in strategic goods and services, agricultural and food supply chains, and technology,” Greer said, saying foreign adversaries seek to overtake America’s technological edge.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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