China vows to ‘fight to the end’ on President Trump’s tariffs
President Donald Trump threatened China with more tariffs after they put a 34% tariff on U.S. imports.
- Video shows key takeaways, tense moments from April 8 Senate Finance Committee hearing on tariffs
- Trump has announced reciprocal levies on trading partners
- U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer acknowledged market ‘volatility’ since the announcement in a Senate Finance Committee hearing April 8
As tensions mount during the fallout of the Trump administration’s April 2 tariffs announcement, China has announced it will up the ante by imposing 84% tariffs on U.S. goods starting April 10.
According to a USA TODAY report, President Donald Trump has rolled out a slew of reciprocal levies on trading partners, including a tax on Chinese goods of 104%. Targeted U.S. tariffs of up to 50% on dozens of nations went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Trump’s global tariffs plan was taken to task during a Senate Finance Committee hearing that went on for nearly three hours. U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer was grilled on the tariffs and their impacts by committee members, including Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA).
Watch the video below for key takeaways from Tuesday’s hearing.
US trade rep defends tariffs placed on ally countries
President Donald Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer testified in a Senate hearing, defending the president’s tariffs.
‘We’ve certainly seen volatility’
The nation’s top trade representative was consistent in his messaging on tariffs, deferring to his loyalty to Trump’s strategy.
Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) asked Greer if he believed there were higher costs for Americans since the tariffs were put in place.
Greer responded: “We haven’t seen yet how those costs will be allocated between the foreign producers and their importers here [in the U.S.], we haven’t seen the data on that yet.” Greer acknowledged varying views on the tariffs from small business owners.
“Have we seen one of the worst drops in the stock market in 35 years?” Luján asked.
“We’ve certainly seen volatility,” Greer said.
Republican Sen. Steve Daines (Montana) raised concerns regarding the U.S. beef export industry. Daines shared an anecdote of a time he had brought steaks from his home state to China for a meeting with high-ranking officials, and as a result of that meeting, the country had lifted a 14-year ban on U.S. beef imports into China, which has since grown to be the largest beef export market in the world.
“The valve is shut for U.S. beef producers,” Daines said. “My question is, what can we do to hold China’s commitment to U.S. beef and other Ag. exports that are so critical right now for U.S. producers?”
“China of course needs to of course take down their barriers… my hope is that they turn back on this course of action. I think President Trump is focused on making sure we have the right program in place and that we engage with partners that will be respectful and achieve reciprocity with us,” Greer answered. “And I think a lot of this is going to be up to the Chinese to see if they want to have fair trade with us.”
Watch the full Senate Finance Committee hearing here.
