USTR Greer Talks Tariffs in Front of U.S. House Ways and Means

U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer spent several hours fielding questions from members of the House Ways and Means Committee. Much of the discussion focused on tariffs.

Rep. Mike Kelly R-Pennsylvania: ”With the president going to China, what do you think? What's the agenda? How can we protect U.S. markets?”

Amb. Jamieson Greer, USTR: “I think everyone knows that, no one has been more clear eyed on the challenge posed by, the, by China, the economic challenge and national security challenge than President Trump. This is why he put tariffs on China in the first term, including on Chinese automobiles. It's why he pioneered rules on information communication technology to make sure that vehicles that have, that there was a regime, so that vehicles that have technology from China in them can’t be used in the United States.”

Rep. Richard Neal, D - Massachusetts: “American families are struggling under the administration's trade agenda. Gas prices have gone through the roof, fertilizer has gone through the roof, and all the food that we eat and consume has gotten more expensive. And about to get even worse. Mr. Ambassador, can you commit today to let the section 122 tariffs expire without adding new tariffs?”

Amb. Jamieson Greer, USTR: “The president, he, his trade policy has not changed. He's not going to go back to the old situation where we had no tariffs and we just let foreign goods made by foreign workers come in without any fee, to the detriment of domestic workers. I know that Democrat attorneys general and Democrats here, they want to have that system. They want to have a system where there's no tariffs and all this stuff just comes in. But we're not going to have that. So the president will continue to have tariffs using appropriate legal tools.”

Rep. Jason Smith (Chair R - Missouri) 01:01:35:23 - 01:02:02:25 Farm economy is in a very, very bad place, including with the rise in fertilizer prices. What more is the administration considering when it comes to addressing concerns faced by our farmers and ranchers? And is the administration still consider, considering utilizing tariff revenue to provide targeted support for American agriculture?”

Amb. Jamieson Greer, USTR: “So we are very aware of the input cost issue and, you know, fertilizer prices skyrocketed under the Biden administration. And but they still haven't come down enough, in our view. And I think we, we probably all share that view. Under the Biden administration, there was an initiative started to allocate money to smaller fertilizer producers that was never acted upon. The USDA is now actively going through applicants of that program.”

Rep Linda T. Sánchez D - California: “The prices are lower, really? Because as a working mom who grocery shops every week, I have seen prices go up and up and up and you can try to spin it any way you want. But I think consumers, you know, unanimously agree that President Trump has failed on his promise to bring down costs. Gas prices are at an all time high with his war in Iran. …They were forced to pay more than $165 billion for Trump's illegal tariffs that the court struck down …Rep Linda T. Sánchez: Do you think the American people who have been paying higher prices because of these illegal tariffs deserve to be paid back too?

Amb. Jamieson Greer, USTR: “I, I, I reject the premise of this. When you look at things, I mean, it's gone down by 45. I think it's smartphones down by four.”

Rep Linda T. Sánchez D - California: “Not the question that I asked. That question that I ask is, do you think the American people who've been paying higher prices because of the illegal tariffs should be paid back also? Simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”

Amb. Jamieson Greer, USTR: “They haven't been paying higher prices because of these tariffs.” 

For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.

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