Greer was chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade representative and free trade skeptic
The president-elect of the United States announced the appointment of lawyer Jamieson Greer as the country’s trade representative, who will be responsible for implementing tariff policies for countries such as Canada, Mexico and China.
“I am very pleased to nominate Jamieson Greer to the position of United States Trade Representative,” Donald Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.
Greer was chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade representative and a free trade skeptic, and is currently a partner at the Washington law firm King & Spalding.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which Greer will handle, will play a key role alongside the Commerce Department in imposing the tariffs Trump has promised.
Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office, as part of efforts to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
If applied, the fees could drastically increase prices for American consumers, from gas to automobiles. The United States is the largest importer of goods in the world, with Mexico, China and Canada being the three main suppliers.
Trump made the threats through the social network he controls, Truth Social, and railed against the influx of illegal immigrants, despite the fact that crossings of the southern border have been at a four-year low.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first executive orders, I will sign all necessary documents to impose on Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on ALL products entering the United States and its ridiculous open borders,” he wrote .
If Trump moves forward with the threat of punitive customs duties, the new taxes will pose a huge challenge to the economies of Canada and Mexico in particular.
