US President-elect appoints Jamieson Greer and Kevin Hassett as trade representative and top economic adviser, respectively.

US President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Jamieson Greer and Kevin Hassett, two veterans of his first administration, as his trade representative and top economic adviser, respectively.

As chief of staff to former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during the former president’s first term, Greer played a key role in prosecuting Trump’s trade war with China.

“Jamieson will focus the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on containing the country’s massive trade deficit, defending American manufacturing, agriculture and services, and opening export markets everywhere,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Greer, who left the government to become a partner at law firm King & Spalding, would be responsible for leading trade negotiations with foreign governments and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization.

In an interview with The New York Times in June, Greer said that Trump officials viewed tariffs as a way to “clean up” unfair trade practices by China and other countries.

“When you level the playing field, it ensures that Americans don’t have to compete unfairly with each other,” he said.

Trump said that as director of the White House National Economic Council, Hasset, known as a strong supporter of tax cuts, would play an “important role in helping American families recover from inflation caused by the Biden administration.” was triggered.”

Hassett, the former chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, does not require Senate confirmation.

“Together we will renew and improve our record tax cuts and ensure we have fair trade with countries that have taken advantage of the United States in the past,” Trump said.

Trump’s latest proposals for his new administration come a day after the president-elect promised a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada and an “additional” 10 percent tariff on Chinese products in response to irregular border crossings and drug trafficking raise.

Economists widely agree that broad-based tariffs would raise the cost of everyday goods in the U.S. and dampen global growth.

Trump’s supporters and allies say tariffs will bring manufacturing jobs back from overseas and give Washington greater leverage to negotiate more favorable trade deals with other countries.