San Francisco Frontiers - Trump's trade representative says tariffs 'bearing fruit'

Jamieson Greer's appearance in Congress came with Republicans ringing alarm bells over Trump's escalating trade war and Wall Street clamoring for clarity on the president's plans after a historic market sell-off.

The US trade representative argued that the strategy was "already bearing fruit."

"Nearly 50 countries have approached me personally to discuss the president's new policy and explore how to achieve reciprocity," he told the Senate Finance Committee.

Several countries -- including Argentina, Vietnam and Israel -- had offered to reduce their tariffs, Greer said, while auto manufacturers were canceling layoffs and companies had announced $4 trillion in new investment in the United States.

The annual hearings on the president's trade policies are often staid affairs.

But they have generated more interest this year after Trump last week announced a baseline tariff of 10 percent and extra levies of up to 50 percent on dozens of countries exporting more to the United States than they buy.

Greer told senators the country had shed five million manufacturing jobs and 90,000 factories in the last 30 years, since a trilateral free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada was enacted.

America's "large and persistent trade deficit" will not be resolved overnight, he cautioned.

"But all of this is in the right direction," he told senators.

"We must move away from an economy based solely on the financial sector and government spending, and we must become an economy based on producing real goods and services," Greer added.

Senior Republican lawmakers have pledged to allow Trump time to see how his tariff gambit plays out, but are desperate to see progress on trade negotiations they believe will calm markets.

- 'No clear message' -

Wall Street stocks surged higher early Tuesday after a three-day rout as global markets rallied in hopes of trade agreements.

But rank-and-file lawmakers remain jittery about the effect of the tariffs and have been demanding briefings on the strategy, with some even seeking to remove Trump's authority to raise import levies.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is leading a bipartisan effort to require congressional approval of tariffs within 60 days, although it is not expected to get a floor vote.

Four Republican senators voted with Democrats last week to pass a symbolic resolution to undo Trump's tariff on Canada that does not have the force of law.

Trump himself ruled out any pause in his aggressive new global trade policy on Monday, and threatened to slap an additional 50 percent tariff on China over its retaliation.

He also dismissed the possibility of a trade deal with the European Union and called his critics on trade "weak and stupid" while pledging to veto Grassley's bill, which is backed by at least seven Republicans.

Democrats were expected to press Greer on the impact of tariffs on prices and the broader economy.

The party's top senator on the finance committee, Ron Wyden, assailed the White House for having "no clear message" about how Trump picked his tariff targets and how long he plans to keep them up.

He suggested Trump was deliberately tanking the economy to bring down interest rates, making borrowing cheaper for the rich.

Greer's appearance was the first of two annual hearings on the president's trade policies. He will be grilled by the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.

S.Hall--SFF