WEBVTT - US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer Talks Hormuz, China Talks, Trade Tariffs 0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:07.000 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:11.040 The conflict in the Middle East whipsawing food prices and 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:14.000 creating uncertainty for global trade. Palmer Am Marie John is 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:18.640 from Washington now with a special guest, a Marie. Good morning, John. 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:21.000 That's right, an individual who just met with a number 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:23.560 of the US trade partners at a wto meeting and 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:28.080 Cameroon is Ambassador Jamison Greer, the United States Trade Representative. 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:30.360 Ambassador gear Good morning, Thank you so much for joining me. 0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:31.600 Good morning, great to be here. 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.720 So you just got back from meeting with a number 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.080 of trade partners, and at the moment, global trade is 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:38.760 upended by what's going on in the Strait. 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:39.120 Of her Moose. 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.440 Did you have an update to give American trading partners 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:44.919 about the flow of trade through that critical waterway. 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:48.040 Well, right now. I think the thing to understand is 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:51.400 that the United States is generally insulated from a lot 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:54.760 of the supply chain effects when it comes to direct 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.480 commodities and things like that. For a lot of that, 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:00.320 we have domestic sourcing. We have sourcing from our partners 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:02.360 to the north and south of US and other places. 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:05.360 But obviously we're aware that this has an impact in 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:09.759 other countries, particularly in Asia. We know that their supplies 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:12.920 are tight, and so we're watching that really closely. When 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:15.000 I was meeting with all of them, this was not 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:18.160 particularly high on their agenda things to discuss with me 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.240 because we were meeting for other reasons. But we're monitoring 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:26.120 the situation given that the supplies of commodities coming out 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:28.240 of the Gulf can affect our treating partners longways. 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.400 And it's not just crude, it's loqualified petroleum gas, which 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:33.560 you need, especially in countries like India to cook. 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:37.360 It's fertilizer. Do you have a sense of a timeline. 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:39.959 Well, you know, first of all, any kind of operation, 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:41.880 you're focused on objectives and you don't want to set 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.080 artificial timelines. When I hear from the Secretary of State 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:48.440 of sectur of Defense, they talk about, you know, operations 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:51.520 in terms of weeks. We hope that's the case. The 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.120 Trump administration has made a lot of headway and its 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:57.360 objectives in Iran in terms of destroying ballistic missiles, destroying 0:01:57.400 --> 0:01:59.560 the navy, and making progress to make sure that they 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:00.920 don't have in a nuclear weapon. 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:04.919 You met on the sidelines with your Chinese counterpart. China 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:08.639 buys the lion's share of Iranian crude. We have seen 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:12.840 Chinese vessels given safe passage to Destrait. Did this become 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:14.400 a focal point of that conversation. 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:15.520 It did not. 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:19.360 When I met with my counterpart, Minister Wong, the Ministry 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:22.200 of Commerce minister, this did not come up. We were 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.560 focused on preparing for the Leader's meeting, which will occur 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.000 in mid May. We were talking about the WTO itself 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:31.400 and the future of it, or potentially lack thereof, as 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:32.000 the case. 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:34.440 May be, And so black there up youre thinking about getting. 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:36.600 Out, well, I wouldn't say that. I would just say 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:39.200 that the ability of the World Trade Organization to meet 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:43.600 the needs of the moment, addressing structural imbalances, currency issues, 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:48.240 huge export driven surpluses by other countries, the WTO has 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.240 never been able to address those things and it won't 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:52.520 be going forward. It can barely address issues on its 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:53.399 current agenda. 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:57.079 So potentially you want a revamp of the WTO. 0:02:57.120 --> 0:02:57.919 Is that what you're calling for? 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:00.320 I will tell you that we have called for a reform. 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:03.880 The Trump administration has put in many proposals, concrete proposals 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:07.840 about reform about how to graduate countries to take on 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:11.160 more obligations as they become more developed. We've talked about 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:14.959 making sure that countries can adjust their tariff schedules to 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.640 account for national core interests, and we put forward a 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:21.799 reform plan together with a bunch of trading partners at 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:24.680 a recent meeting and Cameroon, and there was near consensus 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:28.280 on this. Countries like Brazil and Turkey eventually opposed the 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.000 closing package, which is unfortunate, but it's also kind of 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.760 exhibit a of how the WTO's unable to address these 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:34.440 core challenges. 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:35.800 Back to the street. 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:38.440 In your conversation with your Chinese counterpart, the President has 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:41.000 been pretty direct to European allies, if you want the 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.400 straight to open, you should also help us send vessels, 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:44.120 send a mind. 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:45.560 Sweep er, send your navy. 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:48.320 If China is the one that's benefiting the most in 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:50.480 terms of they're the ones that for years have been 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:52.440 supporting this brutal regime. 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:55.120 Should they also not be on the hook to reopen 0:03:55.120 --> 0:03:55.480 the street. 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:58.280 Well, listen, this is a decision for China, and I'll 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.080 obviously let the President and TERFF, State and SECT Turf 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:03.840 Defense decide how they're going to line with other countries 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:08.480 in reacting to the straight Offomus closing. Again, it affects 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:10.360 these other countries much more than affects US. 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:11.680 Other countries have been. 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:15.000 Working with Iran to figure out arrangements to get out oil, gas, 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:17.880 fertilizer and all these other things. But it is clearly 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.880 in the interest of the world community to make sure 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:23.200 not only to make sure that the Strait is open, 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:26.839 but to make sure that Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon, 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:29.960 Iran doesn't empower its terror proxies in the region. The 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:32.279 world would be much safer if the world was aligned 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:33.800 on taking care of the Iran issue. 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:35.919 As you prepare for this trip, there's a lot of 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:39.560 reporting that China, like Russia, is helping Iran, even when 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.880 it comes to not just supply chains but targeting US troops. 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:45.440 Is this going to be on the agenda when the 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.919 president meets? Is this even potentially a reason why the 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:50.840 trip could maybe get postponed. 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:54.440 In past meetings between the presidents, they've always talked about 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:57.839 conflicts and hotspots. In the past, they've talked about Ukraine 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:00.840 and Russia, They've talked about Iran. Assume that they'll talk 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:04.320 about these things again. With respect to your question, is 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:06.560 there going to be a delay in the meeting. I 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:09.680 haven't heard talk about that either internally. I didn't hear 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:12.440 that from my Chinese counterpartment. I talked him last week. 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:15.239 When it comes to the tariffs right now, there's Section 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:17.520 three or one tariffs that you're looking into when it 0:05:17.560 --> 0:05:20.400 comes to China, and we've seen China actually have their 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.920 own announcement that they're going to investigate US companies. This 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:26.760 tit for tat we might see in the trade between 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:29.200 Ijing and Washington back to where we're almost what it 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:29.599 feels like. 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:30.279 A year ago. 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.320 Do you think that's going to hinder the US from 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:35.680 getting back to the twenty percent level they were at 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:37.039 before I eep it was struck down. 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:39.599 I don't think so. When you look back to the 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:43.200 Busan agreements, the agreements we achieved with the Chinese last year, 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:47.480 we were seeking stability. We were seeking to receive, achieve 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:50.279 a level of tariff application on one side and the 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:53.560 flow of rare earth minerals and things from the other side. 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:57.000 Both sides want stability, Both sides want to see continuity. 0:05:57.080 --> 0:05:59.159 The Chinese know that the United States is trying to 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:01.680 control for our you know, giant trade deficit, we've had 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:03.840 with China for a long time, which went down by 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:06.200 thirty percent last year, by the way, So I don't 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:06.880 think it's going right. 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.760 But China's imports to other countries in the and I 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:12.840 went up, and then those countries are important to the 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:14.919 United States, don't you have an issue with transhipment at 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:15.279 the moment? 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:17.440 So there's there's always been an issue with transhipment. But 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:20.120 when you look at our shipments from third countries outside 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:24.840 of China since April, right since Liberation Day, that deficit 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:27.160 has gone down by seventeen percent. So while there may 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:29.880 be some transhipment, overall, our trade deficit is going down, 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:31.480 so down with China, it's going down with the rest 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:33.920 of the world. It's going exactly the right production direction. 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:36.279 At the same time, wages are going up in America, 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:37.520 productivity is going up. 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:39.039 Do you think you're going to get to the twenty 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:39.679 percent level? 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:42.920 Well, I can't prejudge the investigations right at Section three 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:44.840 oh one. We have to go through the legal process. 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.920 We have to collect information. It's quite public, it's quite transparent. 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:50.120 You know. We know what the nature of the deal 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.280 is that we struck with the Chinese, so we will see. 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:55.599 All I know is that the President for sure is 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:58.039 going to keep protecting our economy. He's going to protect 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.680 our producers so we can continue to have increased production 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:02.440 in the US increase wages here. 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:05.480 If China plays hardball though, not just with their own investigations, 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.680 but potentially bringing rare earths back into the foraight. I 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:11.240 know they have basically till October. There's a deal on 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:14.960 the table potentially, then would you look to maybe decrease 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:15.800 the tariff level. 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:20.400 Well, you know, from our perspective, we're looking for stability. 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:23.320 We're trying to achieve we're trying to get the trade 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:27.840 deficit reduced, We're trying to increase manufacturing in the United States, 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:29.640 and we're trying to increase real wages and all of 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:31.760 that is happening. So we don't see a need to 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:35.280 change our policy. The Chinese wants stability, We want stability. 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.880 I actually see a positive agenda with China going forward, 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:39.920 where we learn to manage our trade with each other, 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:42.520 where we pick the kinds of things we want to 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:45.800 be selling to each other, things that are mostly non sensitive, 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:48.800 to avoid some of the national security elements that prove 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:52.720 challenging and negotiations. I see stability with China over the 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:53.200 next year. 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.400 When it comes to this extension on rare earths, Are 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:57.920 you going to need one in October or will you 0:07:57.960 --> 0:07:59.560 think the United States is in a place where we 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:00.680 don't extension. 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.960 Well, we've made a lot of progress. We have a 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.040 few months, so I think we'll assess that down the road. 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:07.880 You know, we have Project Vault where we're stockpiling a 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:10.200 lot of critical minerals and rare earths. We have new 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:13.200 projects in the United States to mind process and manufacture 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.920 rare earths, including permanent magnets that we need for different motors. 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.800 We're working with our counterparts and our trading partners Australia, 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.720 the EUGE, Pan, Mexico to find projects we can do 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:25.680 together to increase supply chain security. 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:27.160 How much will weare Earth's. 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:28.840 Be on the table this discussion with the President in 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:29.920 Shijing Pang in May. 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:33.280 So when we met in Paris with our Chinese counterparts 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:35.640 a couple of weeks ago, we talked about rare earths. 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:39.280 The process with the Chinese is working fairly well. There 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.320 are a few things here and there where we highlighted 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:43.560 that we didn't feel like we were getting rare earths 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:46.800 in a timely fashion, and we highlighted that to our partners. 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:49.080 They took note of that and have it under consideration. 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:51.920 So the presidents will talk about it if they need to. 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:54.559 Our hope and expectation is that we're able to manage 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:55.760 a lot of it between now and then. 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:57.680 At the staff level, do you think you're going to 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:00.800 have to meet your counterparts again before for the big 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:02.000 leader meeting in Beijing. 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:03.920 I don't think we're going to need to do that, 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:07.520 particularly when we were in Paris. We reach general agreement 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:10.280 on the types of outcomes we want for the leader's meeting, 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:13.240 and right now our deputies and our staff community are 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:17.120 in regular communication to try to land all those outcomes. 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:19.240 Can you give us any sense of what the main 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:20.920 deliverables are going to be in Beijing? 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.040 I think that one of them. In people. There's been 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:25.680 a little bit of coverage on this. We've been talking 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:28.320 about a board of trade, a US China board of Trade, 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:31.280 which really will be a mechanism to help manage trade. 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:33.520 Over the past ten years or so, as the United 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:37.040 States has tried to eliminate its trade deficit with China, 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:41.480 figure out its export control situation, if we can formalize 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:43.720 the mechanism a little bit to make sure that we 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:46.440 are we can agree on things we are selling to 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:49.640 each other. For the US, we want to be selling boeings, 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:53.319 we want to be selling medical devices, pharmaceuticals, AG products, 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:55.560 things like that. You know, the Chinese want to be 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:57.640 selling things to us, and we're willing to buy things 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:00.600 like you know, low tech consumer goods and things like that, 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:03.000 certain commodities that maybe the Chinese have that we don't. 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:07.319 And so coming establishing that type of mechanism at the 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:09.920 leader's meeting and then going through a process of figuring 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:12.000 out how to optimize trade with each other, that's going 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:12.280 to be a 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:14.480 Big deliverable Ambassador Grow, Thank you so much for your time 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:14.920 this morning.