Trade Chief Greer Says Expect Action Soon on New Tariffs

The United States could soon roll out another wave of sweeping tariffs, says Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.President Donald Trump’s universal 10 percent levy—imposed in February under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier emergency tariffs—is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. on July 24.“We expect to see some action soon,” Greer said in a July 21 interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”“I can’t really specify a timeline right now. I have a responsibility to brief Congress and other stakeholders before I really reveal that kind of thing.”The White House said last month that the United States could introduce new tariffs on 60 economies, accusing those governments of allowing goods made with forced labor to enter their supply chains.The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office initiated investigations in March to determine whether 60 economies, including the European Union and Canada, were banning the importation of goods produced with forced labor. U.S. officials determined they did not meet the bar.Greer had proposed an additional 10 percent tariff under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.“The U.S. has laws to prohibit trading goods with forced labor,” Greer said in the CNBC interview. “Other countries, most don’t have a law. Those that do, don’t really enforce it.”Many, including the EU, pushed back against the accusations.Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, argued that the U.S. administration is “desperately searching for new legal grounds to sustain its tariff policy.”“Accusing EU of not doing enough against forced labour is absurd,” Lange said in a June 3 post on X.“The EU has adopted the world’s most stringent rules against products made with forced labor. This looks very much like trying to make the facts fit a legal justification for tariffs that has already been decided.”Tariffs on CanadaA day earlier, the president imposed an additional 50 percent tariff on certain Canadian goods, accusing the northern neighbor of discriminating against U.S. alcohol, cars and auto parts, and dairy products.The levies, aimed at “leveling the playing field,” target almost $20 billion in items, including cement, computer equipment, hockey sticks, and wine.Canada was one of two countries to retaliate when Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on April 2, 2025, imposing its own levies on the United States. Additionally, provinces began restricting U.S. alcohol on their store shelves.In an interview with Fox Business on July 21, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that this was about reciprocity.President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Oct. 7, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times“This is really ‌just reciprocity in terms ​of what ​they’ve done to our great U.S. companies,” Bessent said.The trade ambassador added that Canada has been negotiating superior agreements with other nations.“They give other countries better deals on each of these three issues, and so it was a natural consequence after a year of these measures being replaced,” Greer told the business news network.He noted that the United States is not banning Canadian goods or placing caps on cars and dairy.“But we have a tariff, which is again a natural consequence of the Canadian retaliation, which has endured for a long time,” Greer said.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded in a letter, stating that Ottawa has submitted various proposals to resolve the trade dispute.Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged the prime minister to retaliate against these tariffs.“I’ll never stop fighting to protect Ontario,” Ford said in a post on X. “If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar.”Earlier this month, the administration chose not to renew the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, also known as the USMCA. Officials opted to conduct annual reviews of the post-NAFTA pact and might abandon the deal altogether by 2036.A key component of Trump’s agenda is to address the trade deficit.The administration has made progress on the goods trade gap with Canada, which fell by more than 25 percent, or $15.5 billion, last year. Conversely, the U.S.–Mexico trade deficit went up by almost 15 percent, or more than $25 billion, in 2025.Jill McLaughlin contributed to this report.