The Quiet Architect of Trump’s Global Trade War

Why It Matters

Greer’s tariff strategy could revive U.S. manufacturing but also risks escalating trade tensions and disrupting global supply chains, affecting investors and policymakers alike.

Key Takeaways

• Greer appointed U.S. Trade Representative in 2025.
• Crafted tariff frameworks targeting China, EU, Colombia.
• Aims to revive U.S. manufacturing through import taxes.
• Negotiated initial trade deals with dozens of partners.
• Operates behind scenes, avoiding public spotlight.

Pulse Analysis

President Trump’s second‑term trade agenda hinges on a legal architect who prefers anonymity to headlines. Jamieson Greer, a former Sunday‑school teacher turned U.S. Trade Representative, leverages his working‑class roots and legal acumen to construct the tariff regime that defines the current trade war. By translating Trump’s protectionist rhetoric into enforceable policy, Greer has positioned the United States to levy duties that rival those of the 1930s, targeting sectors from steel to consumer electronics across China, the European Union, and emerging markets like Colombia.

The tariff framework crafted by Greer serves a dual purpose: shielding domestic manufacturers while compelling foreign firms to negotiate favorable terms. By imposing import taxes that can exceed 30 percent, the administration hopes to incentivize reshoring of production and create higher‑paying factory jobs. Early results show a modest uptick in U.S. manufacturing orders, yet supply‑chain disruptions have raised costs for downstream industries, prompting debates among economists about the net economic benefit. Greer’s negotiations have already yielded provisional agreements with several partners, but the durability of these deals remains uncertain amid retaliatory measures.

Beyond immediate economic effects, Greer’s strategy reshapes geopolitical dynamics. Elevated tariffs strain long‑standing alliances and invite counter‑tariffs that could fragment global trade networks. Companies are forced to reassess sourcing strategies, potentially accelerating a shift toward regional supply chains. For investors and policymakers, understanding Greer’s legal approach offers insight into the trajectory of U.S. trade policy and its ripple effects across markets, making his low‑profile role a critical factor in forecasting future economic and diplomatic outcomes.

The Quiet Architect of Trump’s Global Trade War

By Ana Swanson · Feb. 16, 2026

Jamieson Greer, a low‑key lawyer from a working‑class background, is rewriting the rules of the global economy at the president’s behest.

On Jan. 26, 2025, Greer was teaching Sunday school to a group of 9‑year‑olds when his phone began blowing up with calls from the White House. Six days into the new administration, President Trump was already deploying his favorite weapon: the threat of crippling tariffs to bend countries to his will.

This time, the president was threatening Colombia after it refused to accept U.S. military planes of deported immigrants. Greer would not join the Trump administration for some time yet, but he was already a key adviser on trade, flying to Mar‑a‑Lago in the weeks before to help plan Trump’s agenda.

“Why do you have two phones?” a student asked him.

“I have a kind of crazy job,” Greer replied.

As the United States trade representative, Greer, 45, has been a powerful but behind‑the‑scenes force in transforming the global economy. His calm demeanor is often overshadowed in a cabinet filled with outspoken, brash billionaires. Yet few have done more in Trump’s second term to put into practice the president’s vision of altering the system governing how trillions of dollars of goods move around the world.

Greer has provided the legal and policy framework to overhaul a global system Trump slams as unfair. He has helped the president raise tariffs to their highest levels in nearly a century while simultaneously leading negotiations with all of America’s biggest trading partners. So far, he has helped Trump reach initial trade arrangements with dozens of countries.

Interviews with Greer make clear that he is a true believer in Trump’s plan to use tariffs to revitalize the United States manufacturing sector. He and other advisers have ushered in steep import taxes to try to protect manufacturers from foreign competition, coax more factories into the United States and create more good‑paying factory jobs.

“What the president has done is amazing,” Greer said in an interview in January. “He has restructured global trade.”