US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the Future of Trade Policy

“The year 2025 will be remembered as the year of the tariff,” wrote Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the United States trade representative, in a Financial Times op-ed at the end of last year.

In its first year back in office, the Trump administration wielded tariffs to strike new trade deals at negotiating tables around the world. Representatives from the White House made stops in Geneva, Madrid, London, Kuala Lumpur, and Busan—and that was just for talks with the People’s Republic of China.

The US also sought new terms with numerous friendly nations, culminating in the Turnberry Agreement between the United States and the European Union and including framework deals with key allies Japan, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea.

In the new year, trade remains at or near the top of the White House’s international agenda, from ongoing regulatory disputes with Europe to the impending review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) and negotiations between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act has injected yet another complicating dynamic into trade discussions.  

If 2025 was the year of the tariff, what will 2026 be known as? The National Security Strategy argues that rebalancing global trade relationships also means “consolidating our alliance system into an economic group.” How does the administration intend to pursue this objective? Please join Ambassador Greer for a fireside chat with Senior Fellow Peter Rough on what’s next for US trade policy.