President-elect Donald Trump, who declared, “I am a tariff man,” in 2018, selected Jamieson Greer, an important figure in the Sino-U.S. trade war, to serve as U.S. trade representative (USTR) in his second term. Trump announced the choice during a string of days in which he threatened high import duties on a dozen countries, including Canada, Mexico, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa.
The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, met Trump in Florida over the holiday weekend to discuss potential 25 percent duties on Canadian products. Canada is the second-largest supplier of food and ag imports to the United States and No. 2 as a customer for ag exports.
Greer, a partner in the King & Spalding law firm, was chief of staff for USTR during Trump’s first term. Trump said Greer played a key role “in imposing tariffs on China and others to combat unfair trade practices and replacing the failed NAFTA with USMCA, therefore making it much better for American workers.”
“Jamieson will focus the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on reining in the Country’s massive Trade Deficit, defending American Manufacturing, Agriculture, and Services, and opening up Export Markets everywhere,” said Trump in a statement last week.
U.S. food and ag exports were forecast by the USDA to fall for the third year in a row due to lower commodity prices and bumper crops worldwide. Exports of $170 billion during the current fiscal year would be the fifth highest on record. Food and ag imports would be a record $215.5 billion, aided by the strong dollar.
“Soybeans are the United States’ largest agricultural export, and USTR’s work at addressing market access and non-tariff issues is critical for continued market growth,” said the American Soybean Association. The National Association of Wheat Growers and export promoter U.S. Wheat Associates said trade deals with Japan and Mexico during Trump’s first term protected wheat export markets. The wheat groups said they “strongly support an Office of the U.S. Trade Representative actively focused on enforcement of trade rules and opening markets under Jamieson Greer ”
If confirmed by the Senate, Greer would be overseen by Howard Lutnick, Trump’s choice for commerce secretary, although USTR is a White House agency. Trump has said Lutnick would have “direct responsibility” for USTR.
Trump preferred one-on-one confrontations with other nations, rather than multilateral negotiations, during his first term in the belief the United States, as the world’s largest economy, would prevail in bilateral settings.
Over the weekend, Trump said he would impose 100 percent tariffs on the so-called BRICS group of nations if they backed a replacement for the U.S. dollar in international trade or created a multinational currency. “Any country that tries should wave goodbye to America,” said Trump on social media.
The nine BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates — “are an informal grouping of emerging countries hoping to increase their sway in the global order,” said the Council on Foreign Relations. “Established in 2009, BRICS was founded on the premise that international institutions were overly dominated by Western powers and had ceased to serve developing countries.” It members disagree on foreign policy and some of its goals, such as founding new financial institutions and reducing reliance on the dollar, would be difficult to achieve.
The threat against the BRICS group followed a statement by Trump that he would impose an immediate 25 percent tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10 percent on China on the day he took office if the nations did not curb illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling into the United States.
Trudeau said he believed Trump was serious about the tariffs although some analysts said the president-elect might be looking for leverage in the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, due in 2026. In general, food and agricultural goods move across the North American borders duty-free under the USMCA. A decision is expected soon on the Biden administration’s challenge before the USMCA of Mexico’s ban on imports of non-GMO white corn. In 2023, a USMCA dispute panel rejected U.S. charges that Canada failed to grant more U.S. access to its dairy market despite its commitments under the free trade agreement.