@pbsnews: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was in the middle of his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee when President Donald Trump announced that he was pausing his new tariffs on most nations for 90 days. The president also announced he was raising tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%. Minutes later, Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., asked Greer whether he knew this pause was under discussion. He blasted the Trump official for either withholding information about the incoming strategy or being completely unaware of it. “W-T-F! Who’s in charge?” Horsford exclaimed. “It looks like your boss just pulled the rug out from under you and paused the tariffs, the taxes on the American people. There’s no strategy. You just found out three seconds ago, sitting here, we saw you,” he added. Greer defended his testimony, saying that he doesn’t disclose his conversations with the president. “These are real consequences for the American people and small businesses. I had a group of small businesses in my office earlier today talking about the impacts of these tariffs on aluminum and steel. This is amateur hour, and it needs to stop,” the lawmaker responded. Horsford detailed some of the effects for American consumers from the recent market turmoil caused by the threat of major global tariffs — including losses to retirement funds and college savings funds, and consequences for small businesses. “If it was a plan, if it was always the plan, how is this not market manipulation?” Horsford asked. “It's not market manipulation, sir,” Greer said. “It is not a strategy,” Horsford added. “We're trying to reset the global trade system,” Greer responded. Trump said in his Truth Social post that he was authorizing a pause because more than 75 countries had reached out to negotiate trade deals, and that those countries had not retaliated against his moves. The president also said he was lowering reciprocal tariffs to 10% for those countries “effective immediately.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Trump’s global trade war a “successful negotiating strategy” in remarks at the White House after the announcement.

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Wednesday 09 April 2025 20:22:40 GMT