By Bo Erickson and David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told U.S. senators on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s administration has no plans to change tactics on the global tariff program in the near term, prompting some light push back from Republican lawmakers as Democrats excoriated the approach.
Greer, responsible for implementing tariffs, is the first official to face Congress since last week’s global tariff announcement. He faced a cascade of basic questions from lawmakers about the goals and timeline.
Greer said the president told him he is not planning for tariff exemptions in the near term.
Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, asked whether the goal was for new unilateral trade deals or for increasing revenues for the U.S. Treasury Department.
Greer said the goal is trade reciprocity.
Senator Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana, expressed concern a trade war could hurt farmers and raise consumer prices. Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, asked Greer whose neck he should ring if the broad tariff approach does not yield success as promised.
Greer said he has engaged with around 50 countries so far and the “good news” is that most have not indicated they will increase retaliatory tariffs on the U.S.
China is not taking this approach, Greer noted, saying: “other countries have signaled that they’d like to find a path toward reciprocity. China has not said that and we will see where that goes.”
As the hearing went on, Democrats became increasingly frustrated with Greer. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada, home to Las Vegas strip of resorts and casinos, said she was offended by testimony that she felt downplayed the significance of the U.S service industry.
At one point, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia raised his voice about why the U.S. implemented tariffs on Australia, a top ally.
Greer said Australia has blocked American pork and beef. Australia has not banned U.S. beef, but has restricted entry of U.S. beef due to mad cow disease concerns for over two decades, stopping almost all shipments.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio)
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