United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday (22) that none of the countries that have signed trade agreements with the United States have indicated plans to withdraw after Friday’s decision to overturn most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Greer told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that she had already spoken with her European Union counterpart and will speak with officials in other countries.
“I have yet to hear anyone come to me and say the deal is off,” Greer said in the first of several media interviews about the Supreme Court decision. “They want to see how this plays out.”
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15% global rates
On Friday, Trump imposed a temporary 10% tariff after the Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program, which was based on an economic emergency law. On Saturday, he — the maximum allowed by law.
Greer told CBS that the president’s decision to raise the temporary tariff after less than 24 hours reflects the “urgency of the situation” and the need to reduce what he called huge trade imbalances with other countries.
Research on Brazil
Speaking on ABC News’ “This Week,” Greer said the Trump administration will rebuild its trade policy using other legal tools, including the Section 301 unfair practices law and the Section 232 law, both of which are resistant to court challenge.
He told the ABC that the trade representation already had investigations and hoped to begin investigations into areas such as excess industrial capacity, which would cover many countries in Asia, and unfair trade practices in relation to rice, which is heavily subsidized by some countries.
Greer said she does not expect the ruling and subsequent change in tariffs to affect Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in late March.
“The purpose of this meeting with President Xi is not to talk about trade. It’s to maintain stability, to make sure the Chinese keep their side of the deal and buy American agricultural products and Boeings and other things,” Greer said. “I don’t see it really affecting this meeting.”
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a separate interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” said the issue of fee refunds will be handled by lower courts.
“We will follow what they decide, but it could be weeks or months before we have an answer,” he said.
