In a letter to the Financial Times published on Monday, December 22, 2025, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer highlighted 2025 as a year of tariffs aimed at helping the struggling domestic manufacturing industry.
Greer began the article by stating, “Regardless of your economic ideology, 2025 will be remembered as the year of tariffs. International trade itself is neither good nor bad; it is simply an objective reality. The real question lies in whether the trade model aligns with the interests of the country.”
He mentioned that President Trump demanded a trade policy that could accelerate reindustrialization. The government believed that the growing and persistent trade deficits in manufactured goods and agricultural products were causing devastating impacts on the United States.
Greer pointed out that while multinational corporations may not care where their profits come from or where their products are made, it is crucial for Michigan’s auto workers, Texas cotton farmers, and local communities that rely on them. Preserving the specialized knowledge and experience of workers in factories and ensuring the country has enough industrial capacity and resilience to safeguard national defense are also essential.
“To address this situation, a strategy combining tariffs and trade agreements is needed that will incentivize domestic production and improve market access for U.S. export products,” he wrote.
Since the start of President Trump’s second term, a series of trade measures have been taken to fulfill campaign promises. After months of negotiations, the United States established a new trade balance framework on July 31, imposing a 10% basic tariff on trade surplus countries, 15% tariff on trade deficit countries and smaller nations, and higher tariffs on countries with larger trade deficits.
Thus far, President Trump has reached trade agreements and framework agreements with the European Union, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea. Additionally, the United States finalized an investment agreement with Japan, and recently announced new framework agreements with Guatemala, El Salvador, Argentina, and Ecuador.
Under these agreements, trade partners agreed to eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs on U.S. products, simplify non-tariff barriers such as import permits, repeated testing, or unscientific standards or regulations, enhance intellectual property protection and enforcement, ban imports produced with forced labor, treat digital service companies fairly, and avoid imposing digital service taxes, and expand market access for services.
Partners also committed to negotiate with the U.S. to implement export controls, investment reviews, and measures to combat non-market behaviors distorting global trade. In addition, many countries pledged to invest heavily in the U.S. and purchase American goods.
In return, the United States substantially reduced tariffs on countries with agreements and agreed to cross-border investment cooperation, participation in the U.S. technology system, and allowing access to the U.S. consumer market.
Greer stated that the new trade policy has been successful, not only promoting overall economic growth but also reducing trade deficits, raising wages for U.S. workers, and increasing the share of manufacturing in the economy.
He emphasized that the revival of American manufacturing is challenging but crucial. Greer said, “We have lost our status as an industrial powerhouse over the past decades, and rebuilding cannot happen overnight. However, this fall marks the first shipment of rare earth magnets produced in North America in 25 years in South Carolina. The Philadelphia shipyard received orders for a dozen commercial ships, including two liquefied natural gas carriers – the first ships built in North America in nearly 50 years. Foundries and forges are back in operation, new pharmaceutical plants have laid their foundations, and auto production lines are returning to the United States.”
“Those who criticize this as just a tough start, I gladly accept. However, they should consider: would these new production activities have occurred without the tariffs being removed? America’s reindustrialization requires not just smart trade policies but better technology, labor, regulation, taxation, and energy policies – all priorities of the Trump administration. From a trade policy perspective, I am pleased to see that this plan is working.”