Senate Grilling of US Trade Chief Reveals Escalating China Tensions

Pressed repeatedly by lawmakers, Greer insisted that the administration was maintaining leverage over Beijing while securing stable flows of strategic materials. “China has not always been a reliable partner to say the least,” he said, adding that “China this year has controlled rare earths and threatened to do so. This is unacceptable.”

Greer told the panel that the US had conditioned discussions with China on “the way of tariffs,” stressing that the administration was keeping pressure on Beijing even as it negotiated new purchase agreements. “Right now, the rare earths are continuing to flow.

The Chinese have resumed their purchases of soybeans and sorghum… and we continue to maintain leverage on the Chinese,” he said in response to a question.

In one of the hearing’s sharper exchanges, Senator Chris Van Hollen criticized the President’s decision to postpone implementing the “affiliates rule,” a measure designed to close loopholes in export controls affecting Chinese entities. Van Hollen argued that the rule was “a vital tool for our national security.” Greer responded: “It was paused globally for everybody.”

Van Hollen then questioned the administration’s decision to lift restrictions on AI-related “diffusion rules” and allow exports of high-end chips to certain countries amid concerns the technology could reach China. Greer said: “The AI diffusion rule was withdrawn for the world… we're just relying on the country groups that are already established.”

Senator Jack Reed pushed further, raising the administration’s approval for Nvidia to ship advanced processors to China. Reed said military officials viewed the move as “detrimental to the security of the United States.” Greer replied: “I agree with the President,” while declining to detail internal deliberations.

Lawmakers from both parties expressed alarm at reports that China was using trade threats to influence diplomatic and commercial outcomes. Greer described Beijing’s October announcement asserting control over global rare-earth materials as a significant escalation. “This threatens our entire industrial supply chain,” he said.

On China’s massive trade surplus, Senator John Kennedy noted that Beijing “just went out and sold elsewhere” when US tariffs took effect. Greer agreed that America needed stronger tools to counter Chinese practices, saying: “We need to take actions… if we're going to have Agoa again, we need to figure out how to make it more effective.”

Throughout the hearing, Greer maintained that the administration’s tariff regime was critical to reshaping the economic relationship. “We have very high tariffs on China already,” he said. “The highest tariffs are in China and Asia and Vietnam… and it's not about being anti-China or anti-anybody. It's about being pro-American and pro-American worker.”

Despite concerns, Greer said trade talks with Beijing were progressing on several fronts. “We're getting the rare earths, we're exporting our ag again, the trade deficit is going down,” he told senators. “We're going the right way, and this is a high priority for the administration.”

US–China trade tensions have dominated global markets since 2018, with disputes spanning technology controls, industrial policy, intellectual property, and agricultural purchases.

- IANS