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U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer faced a barrage of questions regarding the administration’s “end goals” with respect to use of tariffs, as well as inquiries about impact and bandwidth, during the annual trade agenda hearings of the Senate Finance (April 8) and House Ways & Means (April 9) committees.

Quo Vadis? Greer faced a tougher grilling than he did during his February confirmation hearing. Sen. Lankford (R-OK), Rep. Smucker (R-PA) and others pressed Greer on the administration’s end goals, including pointed questions on his timeline amid recent market turmoil. Other key messages from Republicans included:

• Defining Success: Sen. Young (R-IN) asked if the administration had any “process to evaluate if the tariffs are actually achieving their goals,” to which Greer responded that countries have been slower to retaliate this time around (though China and Canada have retaliated with significant duties). Greer claimed that 50 of the 57 countries subjected to “reciprocal” tariffs above 10% have already begun talks and that the U.S. market continues to be the “consumer market of choice for everybody.”

• Pleas for Exemptions: Sen. Johnson (R-WI) again pressed Greer on the need for an exemption process, pointing to small business impacts in particular. Greer repeatedly affirmed there would be no exemptions. However, President Trump later that day said he could be open to issuing “company-specific” exclusions, though no specifics have been forthcoming.

• Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith (R-NE) noted that “50 plus” simultaneous negotiations with countries across the globe would require significant bandwidth. Greer noted that USTR was in the final stages of getting their team into place, pointing to pending announcements of a chief agriculture negotiator and other deputies. He also contended that USTR had been “making rounds” on the Hill on the administration’s trade plans and that countries are well aware of the trade issues they need to address to achieve success.
• “Onshoring” Questions: Rep. Schweikert (R-AZ) asked how the administration was analyzing whether the U.S. has the capacity to produce goods that are targets of onshoring efforts. Rep. Kustoff (R-TN) asked how the administration was balancing near-term needs for inputs with long-term goals of onshoring critical supply chains. Greer pointed to sectors exempt from last week’s reciprocal tariffs, including semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and copper imports because further assessment was needed on how to thread such a needle. Sen. Johnson also noted that Americans don’t want the low-wage jobs that are associated with much of the manufacturing done abroad. Greer responded that new U.S. factories would use a combination of automation and workers, reiterating the need to be in a situation where “we have production here.”
• Agriculture Angst: Rep. LaHood (R-IL) asked Greer what he should tell his constituent farmers who have been among the first targets of retaliation faced by the U.S. Greer reiterated that countries were largely holding their fire and would continue to do so. However, China and Canada have both imposed retaliatory duties on U.S. agricultural products.

Qui Bono? In both hearings, Democrats’ exchanges with USTR focused on the impacts of the recent tariff actions on U.S. credibility with trading and national security partners as well as costs to average Americans and small businesses.

• Allied Anger: Sen. Warner (D-VA) took aim at the administration’s treatment of Australia, noting the decision to tariff “friends and foes alike” undermines U.S. national security and partnership goals. Rep. DelBene (D-WA) commented that trade deals with the U.S. no longer mean anything if the U.S. is going to violate them so blatantly. Many Democrats also noted what they called major shortfalls in USTR’s consultations with Capitol Hill, including House Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Richie Neal (D-MA), who contended that a heads-up phone call did not constitute adequate consultation.
• Calculation Nation: Rep. Steven Horsford (D-VA) slammed Greer for President Trump’s announcement that reciprocal tariffs would be paused for most trading partners, which happened during the April 9 hearing. Several Democrats also pressed Greer on the “reciprocal” tariff rate calculation, which simply divided the U.S. merchandise trade deficit by merchandise imports, and whether any analyses had been done with respect to that as well as tariffs imposed earlier this year. This included exchanges with Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Peter Welch (D-VT).
• Car Trouble: Rep. Davis (D-IL) pressed Greer on the painful impact of the 25% tariffs on autos and potentially auto parts next month. The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) recently found that the 25% tariffs on autos and prospective auto parts could lead to increased costs of $107.9 billion to all U.S. automakers and $41.9 billion to the D3 automakers.

For further information, please contact Executive Director for International Policy Isabelle Icso (iicso@uschamber.com).