U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview set to air Sunday that President Trump’s newly announced tariff rates are “pretty much set” and the public should not expect them to come down in the near future.
“I don’t, I don’t think they will be in the coming days,” Greer said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” when asked whether he expects rates to be negotiated down in the coming days.
He said many of the tariff rates announced “are set rates pursuant to deals.”
“Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country,” Greer continued. “So, these tariff rates are pretty much set.”
Greer said he expects his phone to be “blowing up” with calls from international trade leaders wanting to negotiate, but Greer suggested the latest tariff announcement will likely be where Trump lands on the issue.
“There are trade ministers who want to talk more and see how they can work in a different way with the United States, but I think that we have, we’re seeing truly the contours of the President’s tariff plan right now with these rates,” he continued.
Trump signed an executive order that modified tariff rates for dozens of countries after he had twice delayed plans to implement “reciprocal” tariffs on other nations. Tariff rates range from as high as 41 percent on goods from Syria to as low as 10 percent, the baseline established for all imports.
The executive order states that all imports will face a 10 percent tariff. The order goes into effect Aug. 7.
Some nations have negotiated separate trade agreements to lock in tariff rates. For example, Indonesia and Thailand agreed to a 19 percent tariff, South Korea and Japan negotiated deals that included a 15 percent tariff, and the United Kingdom struck a deal for a 10 percent tariff. Certain other nations that have not negotiated deals will face higher rates.
