U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday chose Jamieson Greer as the head of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

Jamieson Greer is little known outside of Washington and will fill a key position for Trump’s announced actions on imposing tariffs.

He is a former Air Force lawyer and now serves as a trade litigator. He is currently 44 years old, and he also maintains a close relationship with Robert Lighthizer, who served as White House Trade Representative during Trump’s first term.

Congress and the President of the United States have delegated many trade functions to USTR and other Executive Branch departments and agencies. USTR-led interagency and advisory systems support its trade functions.

Jamieson Greer

On the last day of his most recent election campaign, Trump vowed to impose a 60% tariff on all imports from China, and threatened to slap a 25% tariff on those from Mexico, if President Claudia Sheimbaum does not stop what he called a “flood of criminals and drugs” into the United States.

This Tuesday, Trump announced a plan for his first day as President on January 20. He stated he would impose a 25% tariff on all products imported from Mexico and Canada. Additionally, he would apply a 10% tariff on products from China. He cited concerns about illegal immigration and the illicit drug trade as reasons for these measures.

Negotiator

If confirmed, Jamieson Greer will be a cabinet-level official in the Executive Office of the President and will serve as the President’s principal advisor on trade policy, the chief U.S. trade negotiator, and the head of the interagency trade policy coordination process. 

Also Jamieson Greer will administer U.S. laws to combat “unfair” foreign trade practices (e.g., “Section 301”) and trade preference programs for developing countries. 

In creating and elevating the USTR position, Congress intended to balance the competing interests between U.S. domestic and foreign policy, between trade-related agencies and domestic stakeholders.