Trump’s trade official doesn’t believe the poor are paying the costs of his policies

Jamieson Greer appears to have convinced President Donald Trump that trade deficits were evil and that the U.S. was somehow losing money to countries like Indonesia and China because they don't buy enough American goods.

Just six days into the new administration, Trump wanted to blow up U.S. trade policy and make Greer his U.S. trade representative.

A New York Times profile on him quotes the trade rep. gushing over Trump and the way in which he's "restructured global trade."

After a year of making "deals" with countries, it's unclear how exactly they're supposed to work. Some countries have simply given up shipping to the U.S. because they can't figure out how to navigate a system that hasn't been put in place, only celebrated in press releases.

"Manufacturing employs less than 10 percent of Americans, and the number of factory workers has been dwindling. While some manufacturers support protectionism, others say it raises their costs and makes U.S. industry less competitive. Consumers are also concerned about tariffs increasing prices, and polls show Mr. Trump losing support for his handling of the economy," the Times said.

Trade deficits occur when the U.S. exports goods to a country like China, but China exports more to the U.S. People in China don't have the same level of income as those in the U.S., so U.S. goods that tend to be more expensive aren't as desirable. Whereas China makes incredibly cheap goods, paying manufacturing employees pennies in salary, while U.S. consumers relish in the cheap items they can buy.

The chaos of the U.S., the trade war and ongoing internet battles with foreign leaders have destroyed international trade relationships between U.S. farmers and ranchers and other countries. Soybean farmers, for example, had strong trade relationships with China until Trump imposed massive tariffs, prompting China to retaliate with its own. They stopped importing soy beans from the U.S., costing about $12 billion. Trump promised a bailout, but farmers said they haven't seen a dime of it. Now Brazil and Argentina are getting all of the profits that American farmers once had.

It came at the same time that Trump decided to send China a $40 billion bailout to Argentina. Trump also announced last week that the U.S. would quadruple its purchases of beef from Argentina. It will drive down beef costs for ranchers in the U.S.

As one farmer complained, Trump messed up the soybean trade for U.S. Farmers and then handed a bailout to their new competitors.

With trade at times based on the erratic whims of Trump's mood, Greer is somehow seen as the "source of stability," said the Times. The U.S. Supreme Court may be stepping in to stop all of it, however, when it rules on whether the president has the authority to make trade laws unilaterally without Congressional approval.

The Times profile goes through Greer's time in the Air Force, his Mormon mission in Belgium and graduation from Brigham Young University.

The profile closed by saying that Greer's latest task is trying "to mitigate what he views as unnecessary pain from tariffs." Indeed, goods and food have significantly increased since the trade war began, and industries are struggling because they too must suffer the high costs created by the White House.

Greer is considering possible "exemptions," and Trump has championed bailouts. However, both maintain that the tariffs are helping the limping economy.

"Mr. Trump, too, seems as insistent about tariffs as ever, and as impulsive in their use. Last month, he threatened tariffs against European nations unless Denmark gave him Greenland. The Europeans responded by angrily pausing work on their trade deal, which Mr. Greer and his deputies had spent many months negotiating. Mr. Greer urged them to 'compartmentalize' the issue," said the Times.

Greer dismisses any implication that poorer Americans are being burdened by the trade war. He thinks that the foreign supply chains are paying the costs. Economists disagree.