U.S. trade representative on tariff rates and sanctions
WASHINGTON (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about tariff rates.
According to Brennan, President Donald Trump signed an executive order last Thursday, raising tariff rates on about 70 countries, prompting her to ask Greer if those will be negotiated down in the coming days, to which Greer said:
"I don't think they will be in the coming days. I think a lot of these, well I know a lot of these, 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. So these tariff rates are pretty much set. I expect I do have my phone blowing up. There are trade ministers who, 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."
Brennan followed up bringing up Greer's comments where he said at some point, President Trump's view is "maybe a tariff is better than a deal," leading her to ask Greer if the countries have no shot of avoiding a tariff, and Greer said:
I would say that, in fact, most countries in the world, they just have a tariff assigned to them, right? Whether it's [10% or 15%] or the higher level tariff. Because, again, when the President is looking at this, he looks at potential deals, and we bring him potential concessions from countries and the things they might want to do. And he compares that to the potential tariff that might be applied to try to get that deficit down. And then talking to his advisors, he makes a call on this. And you know, sometimes a country will come back and make additional concessions that, that make it more appropriate. He's trying to get at the deficit. He's trying to re-shore manufacturing. And so those are the factors he's looking at when he's looking at when he's determining whether he's just going to have a tariff or he'll take a deal."
During the interview, Brennan and Greer talked about the difference between a tariff and a sanction.
"Tariffs are actually lighter than a sanction. A sanction [means] you're cutting off a country from your financial system. You're prohibiting trade with them. A tariff [means] you're allowing trade. You're just putting a fee on it. It's a lesser step than sanctions," Greer explained.
To watch Brennan's full interview with Greer, click here.
