The Washington administration should consider imposing universal trade tariffs on all imports into the US. This was stated by the candidate for the post of US Trade Representative in the negotiations, Jamison Greer.
“Universal tariffs should be studied and considered to see if they can change the trade deficit and move production abroad“, he said at a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, which is considering his nomination. Greer did not provide details about these measures. He said that the US trade deficit “exceeds 1 trillion USD.”
In late November, US President Donald Trump nominated Greer to be the country's representative in the trade negotiations. At the time, the Republican noted that Greer had previously “played a key role” in the event of "imposition of tariffs on China and other countries". Greer works at the law firm King & Spalding. The Office of the United States Trade Representative, created in 1962, is responsible for drafting the country's trade laws and agreements.