[CTC] USTR Greer on [fill in the blank]

[Arthur Stamoulis]

*EDITORIAL COMMENT: Barring push back, the Trump administration's intention
appears for its wave of new trade agreements to move forward (1) without
opportunities for public comment and (2) without Congressional votes.
Executive fiat only.  What we've seen from their trade deal outlines thus
far suggests there will be nothing substantive on new manufacturing,
supply-chain resilience, good-paying jobs and certainly not on climate
solutions, but likely new giveaways for Big Tech and Wall Street. —Arthur*


*Quote-unquote: USTR Greer on [fill in blank]*

Inside U.S. Trade, May 22, 2025



The talk of trade.



   - *Greer, in written follow-up, expands on Trump trade directions
   <https://insidetrade.com/node/183223>*. U.S. Trade Representative
   Jamieson Greer provided the Senate Finance Committee *written answers*
   <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2025/may/wto2025_0402a.pdf>
to
   questions posed by panel members following an April 8 hearing. Some of his
   answers:
      - *Reciprocal tariff expectations*. “Given the accelerated timeline
      of these negotiations, USTR cannot commit to providing another public
      consultation process for these negotiations. However, USTR has
provided and
      will provide Congress with an opportunity to comment on proposed
      negotiating texts prior to USTR sharing them with a foreign
trading partner
      consistent with our statutory obligations and will keep Congress apprised
      of developments with specific trading partners. We are prioritizing
      negotiations with trading partners willing to take measures that
will lower
      our bilateral goods trade deficits, directly addressing the national
      emergency that the president declared on April 2. I commit to
memorializing
      these agreements formally. Given that these agreements, if accepted, will
      rebalance trade with the particular foreign trading partner, the vast
      majority of commitments they contain will be made by the foreign trading
      partner, not the United States. To the extent that the United States does
      make a commitment in these agreements, I do not foresee that any U.S. law
      would need to be changed. As such, USTR will negotiate and conclude these
      agreements as executive agreements. USTR will share the text of
      country-specific reciprocal trade agreements with Congress prior to
      concluding and signing them.”
      - *Reciprocal tariff exemptions*. “… Certain goods are not subject to
      this tariff action, such as steel/aluminum articles and autos/auto parts
      already subject to Section 232 tariffs; lumber, copper, pharmaceuticals,
      and semiconductors; energy products; and bullion; all articles that may
      become subject to future Section 232 remedies; and others. The
president is
      not considering exemptions or exclusions at this time.”
      - *U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement expansion*. “We do not have plans to
      allow other countries from the region to join the USMCA during the 2026
      Review process*.”*
      - *AGOA renewal. *“Should Congress consider reauthorizing [the
      African Growth and Opportunity Act], it should consider modernizing the
      program in alignment with President Trump’s America First Trade Policy.
      Congress should consider incentivizing AGOA beneficiaries to develop
      deeper, reciprocal trade relationships with the U.S. beyond trade
      preferences and strengthening enforcement of eligibility criteria for
      AGOA-eligible countries to eliminate barriers to U.S. trade and
investment
      and address unfair and unbalanced trade. Efforts to improve AGOA
use among
      beneficiaries should benefit American workers, manufacturers, farmers,
      ranchers, service providers, and businesses.”’
      - *China. “*It is clear that China continues to pursue its
      state-directed targeting of key industries for dominance, whether through
      industrial plans like Made in China 2025 or by focusing on industrial
      upgrading, emerging industries, and future industries through its ‘new
      quality productive forces’ strategy. We continue to be committed to
      addressing China’s non-market policies and practices and the resulting
      serious harm to American workers and businesses through all
available trade
      tools as necessary to defend our economic interests. With respect to U.S.
      outbound investment, the administration is evaluating whether
the scope of
      outbound investment restrictions should be expanded to be responsive to
      developments in technology and the strategies of countries of concern,
      including potential new or expanded restrictions on outbound
investment in
      China in sectors such as semiconductors, artificial
intelligence, quantum,
      biotechnology, hypersonics, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, directed
      energy, and other areas implicated by China’s national Military-Civil
      Fusion strategy.”
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