Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, told Congress on Wednesday that a “national emergency” remained on trade and that the administration remained determined to use tariffs to transform the economy.
The Trump administration is preparing to introduce another avalanche of global tariffs as soon as this week, as the president attempts to replace tariffs that were invalidated in February by the Supreme Court.
Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, Greer said he considered President Trump’s tariff policy a success and would use every tool available to him to continue it.
“The specific authorities this administration is using have changed, but the business strategy has not,” Greer said. “We are committed to continuing to use tariffs and negotiate agreements to support the reindustrialization of our economy, protect American workers, raise their wages, and reduce our trade deficit.”
In February, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s use of an international emergency to impose global tariffs last year was illegal. The decision rescinded tariffs that Trump had announced last year on what he called “Liberation Day” and cast doubt on trade deals the administration had negotiated based on those taxes. As a stopgap measure, Trump used another legal measure to impose a flat 10 percent tariff globally. But that fee will expire on Friday.
The administration has already prepared a replacement. In June, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative proposed imposing a tariff of between 10 and 12.5 percent on products from more than 80 countries, using a legal authority known as Section 301. It argued that those countries’ failure to impose or enforce laws blocking products made with forced labor from their markets had unfairly harmed the United States.
The Trump administration is preparing another tranche of tariffs under Section 301 that relate to other countries’ practices toward their manufacturing sectors.
The administration has also continued to double down on other tariffs. Trump on Monday signed orders to impose a 50 percent tariff on a wide range of Canadian products, alleging that Canada had discriminated against the United States in key industries. He said Tuesday that the United States would impose high tariffs on generic drugs in 2028.
Some analysts speculated that Trump was trying to force Canada to the negotiating table in talks on the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. U.S. and Mexican officials are discussing that deal in Mexico City this week, but talks between the U.S. and Canada have not officially begun.
On Wednesday, several Republican senators reiterated the importance of the USMCA deal for their states, while Democrats denounced the Trump administration for treating close allies like Canada so harshly.
Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticized the administration for imposing 50 percent tariffs on some Canadian goods while rolling out “the red carpet” for China, “one of the biggest trade frauds out there.”
“It just seems to me that when it comes to tariffs, the administration has lost its mind,” he said.
