Washington: U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer cited South Korea's rise as a "steelmaking powerhouse" in a recent article defending President Donald Trump's tariff policy and criticizing foreign government intervention.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Greer released the article in the June issue of the International Monetary Fund's Finance and Development Magazine. The article comes as his office is conducting investigations into South Korea, China, Japan, and other trading partners to uncover "unfair trade practices," which could potentially lead to new tariffs.
Greer questioned how the United States, known for its abundant cropland, runs a trade deficit in agriculture, while South Korea, with limited energy resources, emerged as a significant player in the steel industry. He attributed these anomalies to economic interventions by countries that have distorted the global economy, resulting in persistent trade imbalances.
He further challenged the traditional principles of free trade and emphasized President Trump's push for a new international economic order based on "balance, reciprocity, fairness, and resilience." Greer argued that while the principle of comparative advantage remains true, modern economics must consider the impact of scale economies and government intervention on structural trade imbalances.
Greer defended Trump's tariff policy by highlighting the positive effects of the tariffs, which he claims encourage productive investment in the U.S., boost domestic production incentives, and open markets for U.S. exports.
In a CNBC interview, Greer mentioned that the Trump administration plans to release the results of its trade investigations into trading partners in the coming weeks. These investigations are part of efforts under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act to identify "unfair" trade practices related to excess capacity and production, and to assess whether countries have banned imports produced with forced labor.
The U.S. has been conducting these investigations to replace country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs that were invalidated by the Supreme Court in February.