During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, spoke about President Trump's blanket tariffs.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Ranking Member.
00:02Today's sole witness is the United States Trade Representative, Mr. Jameson Greer.
00:07The committee has received your written testimony, and it will be made part of the formal hearing record.
00:12Ambassador Greer, you have five minutes to deliver your remarks, and you may begin when you are ready.
00:17Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Neal, and members of the committee, thank you for taking the time today for this hearing.
00:23Chairman Smith, I appreciate your opening statement and the details of some of the effects that prior trade policy has had in your district, and Mr. Neal, I appreciate the work we've done in the past and your willingness to continue working with us.
00:36Last Wednesday, President Trump declared a national emergency in response to the large and persistent trade deficit that has built up in recent years.
00:44This deficit is driven in part by non-reciprocal tariffs, trading barriers, and other economic policies pursued by our foreign trading partners.
00:51President Trump imposed tariffs to address this emergency.
00:55These measures are aimed squarely at achieving reciprocity and reducing our massive trade deficit.
01:00This national emergency declaration and tariff action is the most significant change in U.S. trade policy since we allowed China, unfortunately, to join the World Trade Organization.
01:10The American working class in particular has suffered concentrated losses from the so-called China shock and other adverse effects of past trade policy
01:18and the conditions that give rise to our massive trade deficit.
01:22The United States has lost 5 million manufacturing jobs and 90,000 factories since 1994.
01:29President Biden left us with a $1.2 trillion trade deficit in goods, the largest of any country in the history of the world.
01:38The United States' share of world manufacturing output declined from 28% in 2001 to 17% last year.
01:46In the fourth quarter of 2024, U.S. manufacturing as a share of gross domestic product was the lowest it had been in 20 years.
01:54During COVID, we were unable to procure semiconductors to build our cars or materials for pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment.
02:02During World War II, we built nearly 9,000 ships.
02:05Last year, the United States built only three ocean-going vessels.
02:10Our agricultural trade balance, which historically resulted in trade surpluses for our farmers, was in deficit the last two years of the Biden administration
02:18and likely will take some time to recover.
02:21These are all serious indicators of an economic and national security emergency.
02:25One important driver of these negative trends has been unfair, unbalanced, and non-reciprocal trade.
02:30This includes the effect of higher tariffs imposed by other countries on the United States,
02:35the effect of non-tariff measures that promote other countries' exports and obstruct U.S. exports,
02:40and other foreign economic policies favoring overproduction and degrading America's manufacturing capacity.
02:46This lack of reciprocity is an important driver of our global trade deficit and with particular countries.
02:51For example, the European Union can sell us all the shellfish they want, but the EU bans shellfish from 48 states.
02:58The result is a huge trade deficit in shellfish with the EU.
03:02We charge only a 2.5 percent tariff on ethanol, but Brazil charges us an 18 percent tariff.
03:08The result is we have a huge trade deficit in ethanol with Brazil.
03:11Our average tariff on agricultural goods is 5 percent, but India's average tariff is 39 percent.
03:16You get the picture.
03:18Our trade deficit, driven by these non-reciprocal conditions, is a manifestation of the loss of the nation's ability to make, to grow, and to build.
03:26And it's dangerous.
03:27And the president recognizes the urgency of the moment.
03:30On the very first day of his second term, President Trump issued a comprehensive memorandum setting out his trade policy direction.
03:37And over the past 10 weeks, he has executed on nearly all of these priorities.
03:40He has tightened tariffs on steel and aluminum, imposed new measures on auto and auto parts not made in the United States by American workers.
03:48And on April 2nd, he declared his national emergency and imposed the reciprocal tariffs.
03:55The president's strategy is already bearing fruit.
03:58Over the past few weeks, a planned layoff for an auto production shift in Tennessee has been suspended.
04:03That shift continues to operate.
04:05Another automaker is hiring additional employees and expanding overtime to increase auto production in the United States.
04:11Companies have announced $4 trillion in new investment in the United States.
04:15Nearly 50 countries have approached me to discuss the president's new trade policy and explore how to achieve reciprocity.
04:21Several of these countries, such as Argentina, Vietnam, and Israel, have suggested they will reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
04:28These obviously are welcome moves.
04:31Our large and persistent trade deficit has been over 30 years in the making, and it will not be resolved overnight.
04:37But all of this is certainly in the right direction.
04:39We must move away from an economy based solely on the financial sector and government spending,
04:44and we must become an economy based on producing real goods and services by American workers in our communities here.
04:50This adjustment may be challenging at times.
04:52This is a moment of drastic and overdue change, but I'm confident that the American people will rise to the occasion as they've done before.
04:58I trust them. I trust that they can do this.
05:01I appreciate this committee's interest in President Trump's trade agenda.
05:04Though we may not agree on everything and may have some severe disagreements at times,
05:08it's my hope that our shared interest in doing what's right for the country will allow us to collaborate in the coming weeks and months.
05:14Thank you again for your time, and I look forward to our conversation.
05:16Thank you again for your time, and thank you for your time, and thank you for your time.