New York: President-Elect Donald Trump has named Jamieson Greer to be the official who will sit across negotiators from India and other countries in negotiations to pilot his hardline trade policies.
In his announcement naming him US International Trade Representative (USITR), Trump hailed him for his key role “in imposing tariffs on China and others to combat unfair trade practices”.
About his mandate, Trump wrote, “Jamieson will focus the Office of the US Trade Representative on reining in the Country’s massive Trade Deficit, defending American Manufacturing, Agriculture and Services and opening up Export Markets everywhere”, Trump wrote.
Trump also said he would name Kevin Hassett as the director of the National Economic Council. Hassett, who has an academic background, worked in the first Trump administration as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Greer is a hawk on China, denouncing its trade practices and demanding stricter measures against it. The Trade Representative is a member of the cabinet and has to be confirmed by the Senate.
Greer is a protege of Trump’s first term USITR, Robert Lighthizer, having worked as his chief of staff. Greer, who has studied in Paris, did a stint as an Air Force lawyer deployed in Iraq before specialising in trade law as a civilian.
