United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer is scheduled to testify before the House Appropriations Committee this week. Appropriations Committee members should take advantage of this hearing to review USTR’s current and proposed activities to determine whether its requested Fiscal Year 2027 budget increase is warranted.
- USTR requests an 8% increase in funding to support an additional 27 full-time equivalent employees. That increase would be a contrast to what’s happening government-wide. From January 2025 to March 2026, the number of federal employees declined by 352,000. As the federal government is trimming employment and looking for opportunities to save money in the face of historically high budget deficits, what is USTR’s justification for increasing spending and funding additional positions?
- According to the most recent USTR report on China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance, “China has a long record of violating, disregarding and evading existing WTO rules.” However, USTR did not initiate any cases against China at the WTO in 2025. Does it plan to do so in the future?
- The USTR Congressional Budget Justification for Fiscal Year 2027 refers to “reversing the flow of American wealth to foreign countries in the form of the trade deficit.” What is USTR referring to? Since 1976, real U.S. wealth increased from approximately $28 trillion to $121 trillion.
- USTR refers to the purported threat caused by trade deficits. The U.S. real goods deficit increased by 5.7% from 2024 to 2025. USDA Foreign Agriculture Service statistics show the trade deficit in agricultural goods (BICO-HS10) increased by 10.8% from 2024 to 2025. How does USTR interpret these increases?
- How have the Trump Administration’s efforts to fight the high cost of living been affected by tariff increases?
- Was USTR involved in the Administration’s decision to abandon the goal of reciprocal trade and instead pursue agreements that leave U.S. tariff rates at the highest level in the industrialized world?
At a time when our nation faces a cumulative debt burden of $39 trillion and annual deficits of approximately $2 trillion, the burden of proof to justify its requested budget increase is on USTR. Appropriations Committee members should make the most of this opportunity.