Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Wyden, and Members of the Committee, thank you for taking the time today for this hearing. It is an honor to be before the Committee for consideration for this position. I am also grateful to the Committee Staff for their hard work during this process.
I am grateful to President Trump for nominating me to be the United States Trade Representative. His first term was historic and largely bipartisan with respect to reorienting U.S. trade policy and, if confirmed to this position, I look forward to continuing that work for the President and the American people in close consultation with Congress.
I also want to express my appreciation to my family, some of whom are present here today. I am grateful to my parents, Michael and Shannon Greer, my siblings, and my extended family. I am particularly thankful for my wife Marlo and our five children. Through various turns in public service they have sacrificed quite a bit, including during my military trainings, my deployment to Iraq, and my prior White House service.
I would be remiss not to acknowledge Ambassador Bob Lighthizer, a former United States Trade Representative and a gracious mentor and friend of many years. He gave me my first job in Washington and brought me into the first Trump
Administration to be his Chief of Staff. I would not be prepared for this position without him and the many generous colleagues that have taught me over the years.
I am also thankful to Senator Hagerty for his kind introduction. Working with him when he was U.S. Ambassador to Japan was a highlight of my professional life. He was exactly what an ambassador should be in terms of representing our country’s interests while building constructive relationships with our trading partners. I should also note that my great-great-Grandfather Greer was born in Tennessee as were many ancestors before that, so I consider myself an honorary constituent. And you may not believe this, but the town where my ancestors were from is actually named Trade, Tennessee – so maybe it is destiny that I am here today!
I am grateful to be considered for this position, and I look forward to building on the historic work that was accomplished on trade in President Trump’s first term. Notably, nearly all of that good work was kept in place by the Biden
Administration and even expanded upon.
- For example, President Biden kept President Trump’s tariffs on China and increased them in a handful of critical areas, such as vehicles, steel, and semiconductors.
- The last administration also embraced the United States Mexico Canada Agreement negotiated by President Trump, which has driven massive investment in the auto industry in the United States and North America generally.
- And to this day I hear from cattle ranchers and other meat producers about how important it was to secure agricultural market access in Japan as part of the United States-Japan Phase One Trade Agreement.
At the time President Trump was implementing his trade agenda in the first term, inflation and unemployment went down while real median household income went up for all demographics. This is the type of growth we want in America, and I strongly believe that an active and pragmatic trade policy is critical to achieving this once again.
During my meetings on Capitol Hill in the lead up to this hearing, one Senator asked me a simple but important question: why do you want this position? There are many answers to this, but I have two primary reasons:
First, it is my belief that America should be a country of producers. We are more than just what we consume. Americans should have the opportunity to work in good-paying jobs producing goods and services they can sell in this market and abroad to earn an honest living. I grew up in a family of very modest means in the mountains of Northern California. Our family lived in a mobile home and my parents regularly worked several jobs to help make ends meet. I am very mindful of the struggles that Americans face when they are cut out of economic growth, and trade plays a role in those concerns. I am convinced that American workers, farmers, ranchers, and service providers can compete with anyone else in the world, in this market and beyond – so long as they have a level playing field to do so. Ensuring that Americans from all walks of life have dignified work as producers and builders is critical for economic mobility and social cohesion. If I am confirmed to this position, I would seek to develop and implement trade policies that incentivize good-paying jobs for American workers and allow them to support their families and communities.
Second, it is critical for our economic and national security that our supply chains are resilient. We need resilience in strategic goods and services, agricultural and food supply chains, and technology. We continue to live in a period of global volatility, unrest, and conflict as foreign adversaries invade other countries, build up their nuclear arsenals, and seek to overtake America’s technological edge. If the United States does not have a robust manufacturing base and innovation economy, it will have little in the way of hard power to deter conflict and protect Americans. Trade policy can play an important role in ensuring that we have the economic security that leads to strong national security.
I am convinced that we have a relatively short window of time to restructure the international trading system to better serve U.S. interests. If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed to this position, I intend to work closely with this Committee and the rest of Congress to execute President Trump’s trade agenda. Together we can ensure that international trade benefits American workers and their families and promotes our military, economic, and technological dominance over the long term. Thank you again for your time, and I look forward to our conversation today.
