US Senate confirms Trump's trade chief Greer before Canada and Mexico tariffs
The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to confirm Jamieson Grer as U.S. trade representative, giving the veteran of Donald Trump's first term of trade wars the full authority of his new position just days before the March 4 deadline that will punish imports from Canada or Mexico with 25% tariffs.
Greer's nomination was confirmed by a majority of senators, even though voting is still ongoing.
Greer is a Washington-based trade lawyer and former chief of staff of the USTR Robert Lighthizer. She will take over the office at a time when Mexican and Canadian officials are trying to convince the Trump administration that the efforts they have made to secure the U.S. border work to stop the inflow of migrants, as well as fentanyl, and precursor chemicals to the deadly opioid.
Trump threatened to impose tariffs on North America by declaring an emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for immigration and fentanyl, effective February 1, 2017. He then used the same act to punish China 10% in tariffs due to the fentanyl traffic.
Trump has stepped up his tariffs over the last month. He raised the effective steel tariffs by 25%, rescinded exemptions, and increased aluminum tariffs at the same level. These tariffs would be implemented on March 12, and they will hit Canada and Mexico hardest.
Trump launched a new investigation into copper imports on Tuesday, only days after reviving an investigation aimed at imposing duties on countries that tax digital services on U.S. tech firms. And Greer is leading an effort that was ordered by Trump in order to determine higher "reciprocal tariff rates" for the United States to match import duties of other countries and offset non-tariff barriers.
Renegotiating the USMCA
Some trade experts believe that the Canada-Mexico tariff deadline next week could lead to an early renegotiation on the U.S. Mexico-Canada Agreement, the redesigned trade agreement launched by Trump in 2019. The deal will be reviewed in 2026.
Trump claimed on Monday that tariffs against Canadian and Mexican products are "on schedule and on time".
Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley said that the tariffs will "blow a gap" in the U.S. automotive industry. The auto industry has operations in three countries, with vehicles and parts crossing borders.
Greer said during his Senate confirmation hearing he wanted a quick renegotiation of the USMCA in order to make sure that China doesn't use it as a backdoor to the U.S. to avoid other tariffs.
Greer stated that "I expect we will be looking at the USMCA again right away."
Greer said that he wanted to see the automotive content regulations tightened.
He used the same language as U.S. officials who often refer to China when describing foreign countries.
"Countries who benefit from unfair trade practices or subsidies, and somehow get their contents into goods that go across the border."
Greer was involved in the negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 during Trump's initial term. This agreement increased the regional automotive component content to 75%, up from 62.5%. It also required minimum levels for U.S.-made content.
He also helped Trump implement his 2018 and 2019 tariffs up to 25 percent on $370 billion of Chinese imports, at the time due to intellectual property theft. Joe Biden, the former U.S. president, kept them in place while adding steep tariffs to Chinese solar cells, semiconductors and electric vehicles.
(source: Reuters)
