Donald Trump’s top trade official tried to explain the president’s goal in slapping broad tariffs on imports from countries around the world as he faced sharp questioning on Tuesday from skeptical senators in his first appearance before Congress since the tariffs were announced.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testified at a Senate Finance Committee hearing that Trump wants America to be a hub for manufacturing and production, and sees trade deficits with other countries — in which American companies import more products from a given nation than U.S. producers send to that country — as “a manifestation of the loss of the nation’s ability to make, to grow, to build.”
Reshaping the economy to manufacture more products domestically may be a difficult process, Greer told senators, but “I am certain the American people can rise to the challenge as they have before.”
Investors, companies and many GOP lawmakers are hoping Trump can strike deals to remove tariffs quickly, even though any serious long-term onshoring effort could mean long-term tariffs.
Greer provided a seemingly simple answer for companies on Tuesday: “The best way to have certainty is to build in the United States.”
Senators from both parties pointed out that bringing manufacturing to America would take a long time — and companies that moved their supply chains away from China as a result of tariffs in Trump’s first presidency are now being punished.
Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, mentioned an unnamed company from his state told him it had moved its supply chain away from China to Vietnam, which is now facing harsh tariffs from Trump. That company, among others, wants to know if it should hold off on renegotiating its contracts with companies in America, now that it will have much higher production costs, or if Trump plans to strike deals quickly.
Greer told senators Trump is open to negotiation, but “we don’t have any particular timeline set on that.”
“The trade deficit has been decades in the making, and it’s not going to be solved overnight,” Greer said.
Lankford seemed skeptical of the broader goal to eliminate trade deficits.
“Most countries in the world are never going to buy as much as we’re purchasing,” he said, noting that other nations have much smaller economies.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson also questioned the administration’s plan. He said some companies are afraid to speak publicly about the disruption they are facing. He gave Greer 10 case studies on companies that he said were willing to go public, but said another 50 companies were worried that if they went public, they wouldn’t be able to get tariff exemptions from the administration.
“I’m hoping you and the president are very sensitive about companies potentially going bankrupt by these actions,” Johnson told Greer.
Johnson said he understands the need to reshore production of goods necessary for national security, but he questioned whether there are enough workers domestically to make most products bought within the United States.
“I think trade is a win-win situation,” Johnson told him.
Greer responded that the new factories the administration envisions will “leverage both automation and workers.” He also insisted during his testimony that “this is not a trade war,” because many countries haven’t retaliated to the new tariffs yet.
Trump’s own inner circle is divided. Tech billionaire Elon Musk and Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro got into a spat on Tuesday over where cars should be manufactured.
“Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks,” Musk wrote.
Republican senators were nearly unified during the hearing in expressing concerns about Trump’s plans, even as they tried to avoid criticizing him too harshly. Sen. Steve Daines raised fears about inflation. Sen. Todd Young said he is worried about retaliation against farmers and manufacturers in his state. And Sen. Thom Tillis complained that the administration doesn’t plan to offer any exclusions for companies that use foreign products in their manufacturing processes.
“It just seems like we’ve decided to begin a trade war on all fronts,” Tillis said, asking why the administration went after partners with close trading relationships. “I’m just trying to figure out whose throat I get to choke if it’s wrong.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and a farmer, told Greer that “Congress delegated too much authority to the president.”
Grassley has introduced legislation to subject new tariffs to congressional review. He said he would support Trump’s plan if the goal is to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers around the world, but not if the tariffs are going to be in place indefinitely as a means of generating revenue.
“In the medium to the long term, do you plan to turn these tariffs into trade deals to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers?” he asked Greer.
Greer didn’t quite answer: “It’s important to understand the sense of emergency that we’re facing,” he said, adding that it is important to the president to reshore manufacturing.
“It’s going to be country-by-country,” he said of trade talks. “We need to reshore manufacturing.”
Other Republicans also tried to get clarity from Greer on the possibility of negotiating trade deals. Sen. Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the committee, asked if Trump’s objective is to “engage in market access negotiations with these countries.”
Greer argued that trade negotiations and a long-term project to boost domestic production aren’t mutually exclusive. If other countries have “a better idea” than tariffs to achieve trade reciprocity and to reduce America’s trade deficits, Greer said, “We want to talk to you.”
“I don’t want to pre-judge the negotiations,” Greer added, “but if they’re able to provide an alternative plan that can further these objectives, I think we’re open to that.”
Democrats tried to pin Greer down on the pain American consumers may face in the form of higher prices and supply chain disruption.
Greer deflected a question from Sen. Michael Bennet about higher prices: “So many things go into price,” Greer said. “The challenges, frankly, are going to be more for companies that are largely dependent on imports.”
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence panel, said the move has insulted close allies, undermined national security and will contribute to a lack of trust between friendly nations and the United States. That mistrust will hurt small companies for a long time, he argued. Even if the president ends his tariffs, Warner said, a local bourbon maker told him that it will be “a cold day in hell” before Canadians start buying American-made bourbon again.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the committee, said he will be advancing a bipartisan resolution to end Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose these tariffs.
“Congress must step in to rein in this president on trade,” he said. Wyden added that retirees in his state are worried about their funds as the stock market has panicked.
“You ought to realize how serious this is for the country,” he told Greer. “I just am concerned that there’s no strategy at all.”
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Haley Byrd Wilt is a reporter at NOTUS.