Trump calls first administration veterans Greer, Hassett to economic vacancies | International Trade

The US president-elect tapped Jamieson Greer and Kevin Hassett as trade representative and top economic adviser, respectively.

United States President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Jamieson Greer and Kevin Hassett, two veterans of his first administration, as his trade representative and top economic adviser, respectively.

Greer played a key role in prosecuting Trump’s trade war with China as chief of staff to former US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during the former president’s first term.

“Jamieson will focus the Office of the US Trade Representative on strengthening the large trade deficit, protecting American manufacturing, agriculture and services, and opening export markets everywhere,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.

If confirmed by the US Senate, Greer, who left government to become a partner at the law firm King & Spalding, will be responsible for leading trade negotiations with foreign governments and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization.

In an interview with The New York Times in June, Greer said Trump officials were looking at the tariffs as a way to “correct” unfair trade practices by China and other countries.

“If you level that playing field, that makes Americans unfairly competitive,” he said.

Trump said Hasset, who is known as a strong advocate of tax cuts, will play “a critical role in helping American families recover from the economic downturn unleashed by the Biden administration” as director of the White House National Economic Council.

Hassett, the former chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, does not need Senate confirmation.

“Together, we will renew and improve our tax cuts, and make sure we have fair trade with countries that have used the United States in the past,” Trump said.

Trump’s latest choice for his incoming administration comes a day after the president-elect promised to impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada and an “additional” 10 percent tariff on Chinese products because of irregular border crossings and drug smuggling.

Economists widely agree that broad-based tariffs could raise the cost of everyday goods in the US and slow global growth.

Trump’s supporters and allies say the tariffs will bring back manufacturing jobs from overseas and give Washington greater leverage to negotiate more favorable trade deals with other countries.