[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S1317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Jamieson Greer

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, soon, we will be voting on the 
nomination of Jamieson Greer of Maryland to be U.S. Trade 
Representative.
  I will be supporting that nomination. I voted for his nomination to 
get out of the Finance Committee because I believe we need a clear 
change from the last 4 years, when there was never any attempt to do 
anything to reduce trade barriers.
  Unlike his predecessor, I am confident that Mr. Greer will pursue an 
aggressive trade strategy that includes opening access to new markets 
through new trade deals. I also believe that Mr. Greer will work to 
level the playing field for U.S. farmers to compete with Brazil fairly 
and to deal with China head on. As my colleagues know, I am a free and 
fair trader, and though I would not like to see extreme tariffs, I am 
hopeful that Mr. Greer and President Trump will bring us to freer and 
more fair trade.
  We often think of Europe, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, and China as 
being big problems for us when it comes to trade. I would like to 
remind my colleagues that there are about 190 other countries on this 
globe that we can seek agreements with, and taking time to seek those 
agreements would be good.
  Along this line, Senator Boozman, chairman of the Ag Committee, and 
I, a member of the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over 
trade, sent letters to members of the Finance Committee, the 
Agriculture Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee of the House of 
Representatives. We asked our colleagues to listen to somebody who has 
had some experience in dealing with some of these smaller nations with 
bilateral trade agreements. That person is a person by the name of Al 
Johnson.
  During the George W. Bush Presidency, he negotiated trade agreements 
with about a dozen countries that added up to about six or seven 
different agreements--all bilateral. I think, this is the way President 
Trump prefers--bilateral negotiations rather than multilateral 
negotiations. He was very successful, and that success can be measured 
by the fact that he has shown in his studies that, with these dozen 
countries with which we negotiated bilateral free-trade agreements 
during the George W. Bush administration, we increased our trade with 
those nations by about 600 percent.
  So I hope my colleagues will give Al Johnson a chance to talk to 
them. I know he has already visited with some Members of the U.S. 
Senate, and he is very vigorously promoting the idea that we ought to 
have bilateral negotiations--and with a lot of countries that we never 
think about--that could be beneficial to American exports.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.