U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer used a recent series of public appearances to deliver a single, unmistakable message: tariffs are now a permanent feature of U.S. trade policy, and neither USMCA partners nor China should expect a return to the pre-tariff status quo.
Tariffs Tied to the Trade Deficit
At a Tuesday forum, Greer said, "We're going to have tariffs as long as we have a giant trade deficit," adding that the administration has spent "the past year and a half going to countries telling them we have to have some level of tariff." The remarks represent the clearest statement yet that Canada and Mexico should not expect a return to duty-free trade under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, even as formal renegotiations of the pact are underway. Greer also indicated that the administration has particular trade concerns with Canada.
Tariffs Are Still Key to US Policy
On broader tariff architecture, Greer signaled the partial end of Most Favored Nation treatment, saying MFN will continue for some products but that in "agriculture and sensitive industrial sectors, it will end," because the United States "should be able to treat countries in different circumstances differently."
North American Tariffs - Despite USMCA
At the same Tuesday forum in Washington — held one day before Greer's departure for Mexico City to begin the first formal bilateral round of the USMCA joint review — Greer made clear that U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada are not going away in the near term. Reiterating that "we're going to have tariffs as long as we have a giant trade deficit," he tied continued North American tariffs directly to the administration's deficit-reduction objective rather than to the outcome of the USMCA review itself.
Greer also used the forum to outline how the USMCA negotiations will be shaped by tariff policy. He said the talks would address rules of origin "in a way that increases U.S. content" in North American products, and would focus on coordinating external tariffs to keep Chinese goods from entering U.S. supply chains through Canada and Mexico. He pointed approvingly to Mexico's recent imposition of roughly 1,400 tariffs on countries with which it does not have free trade agreements as an example of the kind of external-tariff alignment the United States is seeking.
At the same time, Greer floated the possibility of preferential tariff treatment within North America if Canada and Mexico cooperate on those external tariffs, framing regional supply chains as a national security priority and stating that he wants U.S. supply chains "to be sourced from this hemisphere." He indicated that negotiations with Mexico are progressing more smoothly than those with Canada, expressed continuing frustration over Canada's retaliatory tariffs from last year, and warned that talks over the future of Canada's auto sector are likely to be difficult, even as cooperation in energy, minerals, and fertilizers remains largely tariff-free.
Elevated Duties in China is a New Baseline
On China, Greer was equally direct. He described current tariff rates on Chinese goods as falling in the 35-50 percent range depending on product, compared with a 10-15 percent baseline applied to most other trading partners, and stressed that the United States retains the ability to push rates back up to higher "Busan deal" levels if needed.
In public remarks, Greer underscored that “duties are here to stay,” framing tariffs on China as a permanent feature of U.S. policy rather than a temporary negotiating tool. In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, he also downplayed the prospect of a broad exclusion process, signaling that importers should not expect large-scale carve-outs.
A New Board of Trade and Section 301 Tariffs in the Future
A forthcoming Federal Register notice, tied to the new U.S.-China Board of Trade, will be used to determine which products fall into that lower-tariff tranche.
Greer also confirmed that recommendations from ongoing Section 301 investigations will be released in the "coming months" via Federal Register notice. While the President is not interested in "exclusions," Greer said the specific goods targeted by Section 301 tariffs could still be "shaped by the input" gathered through public comments - an important opening for importers and domestic producers to weigh in.