Jamieson Greer has been nominated by Donald Trump for the post of US trade commissioner in the next administration

US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday selected trade lawyer Jamieson Greer as his new US trade representative, promoting a veteran of his first trade war against China to carry out a tariff agenda that promises to boost global trade.

“Jamieson will focus the Office of the US Trade Representative on tackling the massive Trade Deficit, protecting American Manufacturing, Agriculture, and Services, and opening Export Markets everywhere,” Trump said in a statement.

Greer, 44, served as chief of staff to Trump’s former US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, the architect of Trump’s first tariffs on $370 billion in Chinese imports and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

In this role, Gerer participated with Lighthizer in all negotiations with Chinese officials for the signing of the “Phase 1” trade agreement with Beijing in January 2020. Under that agreement, China pledged to buy US goods worth 200 billion dollars between and two years. , a goal that has never been reached, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greer, who previously worked with Lighthizer at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, in steel remedial litigation, left the US Trade Representative in May 2020 to join the law firm King & Spalding in Washington, DC where he represents clients including domestic manufacturers in remedial trade litigation, import and export compliance and investment security issues.

Tariff threats from Trump

Trump began the morning with some tariff plans, vowing on Monday to impose 25 percent duties on imports from Mexico and Canada and 10 percent on Chinese goods unless he stops the flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl and illegal immigrants entering the US. The threat has issued warnings of retaliation.

That threat comes on top of Trump’s vow to impose a 60 percent tariff on Chinese imports and 10 to 20 percent on all imports.

Greer’s views on China and the need for tougher measures to counter its government-driven efforts to dominate global industries and protect US jobs and industries are firmly in line with Trump and Lighthizer.

During testimony in May before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Gerer argued against “escalating tariffs” to level the trade playing field between the US and China, as well as stricter export controls to protect critical US technology.

American President Joe Biden applauded the increase in the prices of goods bought in China to protect strategic industries such as electric vehicles, batteries and semiconductors, but he said that strict measures need to be taken.

“I am deeply concerned not only about the Chinese efforts to dominate global markets and other critical technologies and advanced advanced commodities, but also about the Chinese government’s use of commercial investment to support state-owned enterprises, its military, and then develop an economy that appears to be preparing for conflict with the United States and others,” Greer said. .

He said during a trade show in February that his customers wanted to diversify their stores away from China, in part because of tariffs placed on Chinese imports during Trump’s first term.

Bloomberg News reported earlier Tuesday that Trump would nominate Greer for trade representative.

Trump, 78, returns to the Oval Office in January after spending four years without power. He is the second US president to win the White House in consecutive terms.