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USTR defends Trump administration’s national-emergency tariffs as talks begin with 50-plus countries
Summary
Ambassador Jason Greer told the Senate Finance Committee that President Trump declared a national emergency over the U.S. trade deficit and has imposed broad reciprocal tariffs while opening negotiations with more than 50 countries to seek market-access concessions.
The Senate Finance Committee heard extended testimony Wednesday from Ambassador Jason Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, defending President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency and the administration’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs intended to reduce the U.S. trade deficit.
Greer said the administration concluded last week that the nation faces an urgent economic and national-security challenge tied to a large and persistent trade deficit. "President Trump imposed tariffs to address this emergency," Greer said. He told the committee the measures are aimed "squarely at achieving reciprocity and reducing our massive trade deficit to reshore production in the United States."
Greer and other administration witnesses anchored the actions to the new "America First Trade Policy" memorandum, the USTR’s national trade estimate, and the president’s directive. Greer described the tariff package as a…
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