President-elect Donald Trump announced a series of appointments Tuesday, including international trade lawyer Jamieson Greer as his U.S. trade representative, Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council and Vince Haley as director of the Domestic Policy Council.
In announcing Greer’s nomination, Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in impose tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade deal with Canada and Mexico, “making things much better for American workers.”
Greer previously served as chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade representative who was deeply skeptical of free trade. Greet is currently an associate at the law firm King & Spalding in Washington. He was not immediately available for comment.
If confirmed as trade representative, Greer would be responsible for negotiating directly with foreign governments on trade agreements and disputes, as well as joining international trade bodies such as the World Trade Organization.
The selection comes after Trump on Monday, plans were announced to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada and additional 10% tariffs on all imports from China upon his inauguration in January.
Trump said the tariffs would remain in place “until drugs, especially Fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!” »
At the same time, economist Kevin Hassett was named director of the White House National Economic Council, bringing a staunch advocate of tax cuts into the Trump administration.
Trump said in Tuesday’s announcement that Hassett “will play an important role in helping American families recover from the inflation unleashed by the Biden administration” and that together they will “renew and enhance” the cuts. 2017 taxes, many of which are expected to expire after 2025.
Hassett, 62, served during Trump’s first term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-wing American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017.
