Trump will explain tariffs on electronics on Monday

Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer if President Donald Trump will reverse course on tariffs if they were to lead to 10% inflation.

"The president is fixed in his purpose," Greer responded as he said trade deficits have persisted for too long.

Hassan then posed another scenario: Would the administration reverse course if the tariffs contributed to a 50% stock market crash? Greer said he took issue with Hassan's hypotheticals, arguing they're "not consistent with the history we have seen with tariffs."

"My hypotheticals are based on the fact that a lot of Americans are looking at their 401(k)s today and wondering how much of a lifestyle change they are going to have to have or whether they're going to be able to retire when they plan to because of the recklessness and haphazard nature of the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs," Hassan said.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was asked what the administration's status is with China as it begins to negotiate with other countries. China said Tuesday it will fight the U.S. taxes "to the end" after announcing its own retaliatory tariffs.

"I see a distinct difference between those countries who have come to us and they said, 'We understand your issues, we understand the deficit, we understand your desire for reciprocity and we want to work with you on this' and the Chinese approach, which has been, 'We are going to retaliate,'" Greer said.

Greer said he doesn't think a deal with China is "in the very near term."

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer if President Donald Trump's steeper "reciprocal" tariffs are still set to go into effect early Wednesday.

"Senator, yes, they're scheduled to go into effect. We are having negotiations with all kinds of counties at this time," Greer responded, arguing the "national emergency" declared by Trump on trade deficits is "something we can't wait on anymore."

"So we will have the president's plan go into effect and we're coupling that with immediate negotiations with our partners," Greer said.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in his opening statement before the Senate Finance Committee, defended Trump's tariff as the most significant trade policy change since allowing China to join the World Trade Organization.

"These measures are aimed squarely at achieving reciprocity and reducing our massive trade deficit to restore production in the United States," Greer said.

Greer said the trade deficit the U.S. faces is decades in the making and "will not be solved overnight but all of this in the right direction, particularly as we start to negotiate with these countries."