U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Monday that new tariffs placed on 60 trading partners — aimed at countries accused of failing to crack down on forced labor — are not expected to have a meaningful economic effect.
Speaking on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Brett Baier,” Greer explained that the new duties, issued under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, apply to a narrower group of countries than a previous temporary 10% tariff that had applied universally and has since expired. Despite the smaller scope, the agency has indicated the forced labor tariffs would still cover 99.4% of all U.S. imports.
When asked whether the tariffs could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions this week, Greer was direct: “Well, I don’t think it has an impact at all.”
He went on to say, “Now we have a set of tariffs, it’s on a smaller set, it’s not the whole world. A lot of the rates are pretty similar, so it should not have any economic impact that’s different than what we’ve been experiencing.”
The tariff rates in question range from 10% to 12.5%, which Greer characterized as consistent with recent actions taken on the global trade stage.
Greer also revealed that his office is continuing work on a separate, wide-ranging tariff investigation focused on excess industrial capacity. That probe targets 16 major trading partners, including China, Vietnam, Mexico, and the European Union. “We’re going to finish up that investigation hopefully soon, and we’ll make a proposal,” Greer said, indicating the outcome could result in additional tariffs.
Greer also defended the administration’s reliance on Section 301 as the legal basis for broad tariff action, pointing out that the U.S. Supreme Court referenced the statute in its ruling that struck down sweeping tariffs the president had imposed under a national emergencies law. Section 301 was previously used during Trump’s first term to impose heavy duties on Chinese goods — tariffs that have survived multiple legal challenges and remain in effect today.
