Jul 23, 2026
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Add us on GooglePresident Donald Trump’s chief trade emissary is promising to stick to tariffs as a negotiating tool for supporting the White House’s aims of overhauling the U.S. economy so more products are made in America.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer argued the application of tariffs was in response to the “national emergency” of the U.S. trade deficit, or the gap between what the U.S. imports and exports. The Trump administration announced earlier in the week that it is proceeding with 50% tariffs on Canadian imports by Aug. 19.
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“The specific authorities this administration is using have changed but the trade strategy has not,” Greer said in his opening statement to the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday. “We are committed to continuing to use tariffs and to negotiate deals to support the re-industrialization of our economy, protect American workers and increase their wages, and shrink our trade deficit.”
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More tariffs are on the way
Greer’s appearance comes two days before a 10% temporary universal tariff is set to expire on Friday. That levy was put in place almost immediately after the Supreme Court in February struck down Trump’s first tranche of tariffs as illegal, saying in its 6-3 ruling that the White House overstepped its authority in citing an emergency law.
But the White House has labored to rebuild its wall of tariffs ever since, and it’s eyeing a new authority under Section 301 of the Trade Act against forced labor.
Last month, the Trump administration proposed a 12.5% tariff on 54 nations that include the United Kingdom, Russia, South Korea, Brazil and Peru for “failing” to impose and enforce a ban on imported goods produced through forced labor. It also proposed a 10% tariff on six countries that failed to enforce their existing law restricting products made with forced labor.
The Office of the Trade Representative argued that importing those products disadvantage American workers.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a Thursday daily press conference that the USTR was set to release an announcement about the proposed tariffs later in the afternoon. The USTR did not immediately respond to Moneywise’s request for comment.
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How tariffs have reworked the US economy so far
During Wednesday’s hearing, Greer sparred with Democratic lawmakers about the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts pointedly asked Greer if tariffs had increased prices on American families. Greer rebuffed Warren and argued that inflation had dropped in recent months — largely due to a fall in gas prices that are now climbing again.
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Economists, though, broadly agree that tariffs serve as a tax on importers that are eventually passed onto families. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has said that tariffs amplified inflation by 0.8% in March, with the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge reaching 3.2% as a result. Without tariffs, the inflation gauge would have been 2.3% instead.
Congressional Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee estimated that families paid over $1,700 in tariff costs from February 2025 through January 2026. Their February analysis relied on data from the Census Bureau and monthly Treasury tariff revenue reports among other federal sources.
The Trump administration is in the midst of issuing $166 billion in tariff refunds to importers and U.S. companies who paid the taxes last year. About $ 86 billion has been refunded so far, according to a July 13 court filing from Customs and Border Protection.
It’s possible that Trump’s pending tariffs could be nixed again and set in motion a second wave of refunds, if near-certain lawsuits against them are successful.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig is a policy and politics journalist based in Washington D.C with a focus on economics. He is experienced in connecting the significance of events in the capital to the lives of everyday Americans whether its taxes, tariffs, interest rates or federal programs.
