    [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.