During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) questioned Ambassador Jamieson Greer, a United States Trade Representative, about prioritizing U.S. allies in trade policies.
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00:00Now recognize Mr. Hearn for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for being here today, Mr. Ambassador. I really appreciate you being here to recognize the relationship between the executive branch and Congress as it relates to trade, so thank you.
00:13You know, over the last four years, trade has been neglected at best, and it's long past time for a real trade agenda and a president who wants to strengthen America, not cede its interest to foreign governments.
00:22As a matter of fact, the American people elected President Trump in November under the premise that he would rebalance trade with our allies and others around the world to bring manufacturing back to the United States to create high-paying jobs in America, make things in America.
00:36And as you just alluded to, it's been applauded by many people, including our great auto workers, as they talk about reconstituting those manufacturing jobs where they're needed most.
00:45You mentioned in your testimony that Israel is one of the countries looking to negotiate, and to my knowledge, they were the first to remove all tariffs for the United States.
00:52It is heartening to hear that our allies are coming to the table and taking quick action to remove trade barriers with the United States.
00:59Last Congress, I introduced a resolution in support of the free trade agreement we have with Israel as a way to support one of our greatest allies as they face an existential threat from Iran and its terror proxies.
01:09I appreciate President Trump's strong support of Israel, and I hope that this first step by Israel to move to a zero-tariff policy will lead the way to an even stronger trade and economic relationship between our two countries.
01:21Trade policy should reflect not only economic interests, but also national security and ideological alignment.
01:28Strengthening relationships with allies who share American values is essential to reducing reliance on adversarial nations.
01:34Mr. Ambassador, how can we ensure our trade policies prioritize strategic allies like Israel and Taiwan who share American values and are willing to join us in enacting common policies to counter our adversaries?
01:47Thank you, Congressman.
01:48I'm happy to report that Sunday night I had a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu about this very issue, and the Taiwanese have also reached out.
01:56So this is something where we're having close, high-level talks about how to move forward.
02:01I would also say as we talk to our allies, we're encouraging them and hoping that they will align with us on things like export controls and investment screening to make sure that as we trade with them,
02:11we're trading in a way that increases our economic security and not just our economic growth.
02:16We know calculations are going on and into the reciprocal tariffs, include more than just tariffs, other countries place on the United States.
02:24And as you're undergoing negotiation with our allies, is the president and your office taking into consideration things like export controls, as you just mentioned,
02:34foreign military sales, foreign direct investment as it relates to their relationship with the United States?
02:40So we certainly consider those things and appreciate them.
02:43Remember, with foreign direct investment, because they export so much to us, they have all these hard dollars, and the best place to put them is here.
02:49And so that's kind of a natural outgrowth.
02:51We are very focused on making sure that we have a trade in goods that is fair and make sure that we're not getting, you know, dumped on or have overcapacity overflowing into the U.S.
03:03and that we have export market opportunities, but we certainly are encouraged by, you know, the $4 trillion in new investment that's been announced by foreign companies.
03:11Are military sales included in that?
03:13So that's a good question.
03:15We've thought about that.
03:16When you look at the trade numbers, I think foreign military sales, official ones, don't normally show up in those trade numbers.
03:22But I know that's been raised by several of our allies, and of course we want them to be, we want our technology to be the technology that allies are using.
03:29The last four years under former President Biden, USTR failed to adequately address discriminatory extraterritorial taxes and digital trade barriers harming American companies.
03:40Last year, I raised concerns with Ambassador Tai when USTR failed to include digital trade barriers in the 2024 national trade estimate, the NTE report on foreign trade barriers.
03:52The Internet and digital technologies have revolutionized commerce, enabling businesses of all sizes to access global markets and consumers like never before.
04:00However, this potential is being undermined by the rise of digital trade barriers imposed by some of our trading partners.
04:07Those barriers come in various forms from data localization requirements to discriminatory regulations and censorship measures.
04:14That not only stifles innovation and economic growth, but also undermines the competitiveness of American business in the digital age.
04:21In 2023, the US exports of digitally enabled services accounted for 64% of all US exports, and the US had nearly $300 billion in digital trade surplus.
04:32Will you make it a priority to, unlike the last administration, to address this digital trade barrier?
04:39Yes, we're focused on this.
04:41We're not political or choosing sectors we like or don't like.
04:45And we've recorded in the trade estimate this year different digital trade barriers.
04:49Obviously, Congress is going to, you know, regulate and decide how we're going to, you know, manage digital trade competition, those kinds of things.
04:56But we just can't have discrimination.
04:58And I won't accept that by our foreign trading partners, especially in this area where we're so competitive.
05:03I want to thank you again for coming here, and I appreciate answering everyone's question.
05:07Again, it shows the understanding of the relationship between the executive branch and Congress as it relates to trade.
05:12Thank you again, appreciate it.
05:13I yield back.
05:16Ms. DelBene.
05:17Mila.
05:27I yield back.
05:33My lord.
05:36I yield back.