Washington, Feb 21 (IANS) US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that the Trump administration will continue to execute the President’s trade agenda despite the Supreme Court’s ruling limiting the use of emergency tariff powers, stressing that alternative legal tools are already being deployed.
Speaking to Fox News, Greer said the administration’s approach remains intact even if the statutory pathway shifts.
“Simultaneously, the office of the US Trade Representative will initiate a number of investigations under Section 301 of Unfair Trading Practices by a number of different countries to assess if we can impose tariffs on that basis, if we need to, if they don’t resolve those issues,” Greer said.
He added that the administration retains existing national security measures. “And of course, we have existing national security tariffs on auto steel, aluminum, et cetera,” Greer noted.
Summarising the administration’s posture after the Court’s decision, Greer said: “Although the, the tools may change, the policy remains the same”.
Greer emphasised that trade agreements negotiated under President Donald Trump remain in force and are not affected by the legal shift.
“It helped us obtain tons of deals covering half of the world’s population, opening up market access we haven’t enjoyed for 30 years, and we have these agreements, and so we’ll just use a different tool,” he said.
Reiterating the continuity message, Greer added: “Again, the tools may change, but the policy stays the same, and IEEPA was part of that”.
He also sought to reassure markets and trading partners that the transition away from IEEPA-based tariffs would not create instability.
“So we don’t expect to see disruption. We expect to see continuity. We expect the com, the countries to keep their agreements. So I think it’s just going to be a continuous progress on the president’s trade policy, which has been very successful,” Greer said.
Following the Supreme Court ruling, the administration announced a temporary 10 per cent global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and signalled an expansion of Section 301 investigations into alleged unfair trade practices. Existing Section 232 tariffs tied to national security concerns remain in effect.
The message from the US Trade Representative’s office was clear: while the legal mechanism may change, the administration’s broader objective — reshaping global trade relationships in favour of US workers and businesses — will continue without interruption.
–IANS
lkj/rs
