Trump asks Lighthizer, architect of US-China trade war tariffs, to be trade chief: report

Robert Lighthizer, who implemented then-US president and now president-elect Donald Trump’s trade war against China more than six years ago, has been tapped to reprise his role as US Trade Representative in Trump’s incoming administration, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

A strong proponent of tariffs as an effective tool to fight foreign subsidies and bolster American companies, Lighthizer has been one of the most frequent names to emerge in speculation over who Trump will pick for key economic cabinet positions. He was also seen as a possible candidate for commerce secretary.

He has been active in the debate over tariffs in the years since leaving his post at the end of Trump’s first term, publishing a book titled No Trade is Free last year, in which he argues for an escalation of the trade conflicts and tariff wars that characterised the Trump years.

In the book, Lighthizer advocates for “strategic decoupling” from China, suggesting a bigger break with the world’s second-largest economy compared with the “de-risking” measures pushed by US President Joe Biden.

The goal, he said, should be the elimination of trade deficit with China by repealing its normal trade status, in addition to more tariffs.

The US had a US$279 billion trade deficit with China last year, down US$343 billion in 2019, the first full year after USTR began slapping punitive tariffs on imports from the country, according to US government data.

He has also sparred with the Wall Street Journal’s criticism of tariffs.