If we do make headway, and the president thinks we're close enough that he can close the deal on major issues, then I think he'll want to have a meeting and do that, i have complete confidence in the president, both to close a deal if we get to that point, but also to make that judgment.

Robert Lighthizer

Categorized in : Business

I think people understand the president, that he's firm. They know that he's going to make the decisions that he thinks are right, and I think ultimately that we've come to an understanding with China now on where we want to head.

Robert Lighthizer

Over the course of the last week or so we have seen ... an erosion in commitments by China, that, in our view, is unacceptable.

Robert Lighthizer

We felt like we were on track to get somewhere, we tried to accommodate changes in the text, but these are substantial and substantive changes.

Robert Lighthizer

I'm not foolish enough to think there's one negotiation that's going to change all the practices with China or our relationship with them, i view this as a process.

Robert Lighthizer

This is not a free trade agreement, my scope is narrow here, it i... by Robert Lighthizer

This is not a free trade agreement, my scope is narrow here, it is based on 301.

Robert Lighthizer

Not quite sure where you're going with this. by Robert Lighthizer

Not quite sure where you're going with this.

Robert Lighthizer

The United States is a great producer of technology, and innovation, and know-how, and trade secrets. And we have to operate in an environment where those things are protected, i'm by no means predicting success; there is a lot of work that has to be done.

Robert Lighthizer

At this point, it's impossible for me to predict success. But we're in a place that if things work out, it could happen.

Robert Lighthizer

If the duty rate on the $200 billion tariff actions is raised to 25 percent, USTR will initiate an appropriate exclusion process.

Robert Lighthizer

The US government's entirely The US government, the US government has nothing to do with anything I'm working on.

Robert Lighthizer

You cannot think that in a process of negotiations we're going to solve one item without reviewing the overall balance of the agreement, we're going over all the items. It's very important to stress that.

Robert Lighthizer

It is hard for me to understand why we tolerate so many barriers to agriculture trade when America is the No. 1 producer of agriculture products. I think opening up markets - more markets for agricultural sales is a very high priority for us.

Robert Lighthizer

understand think me agriculture

I agree with President Trump that we should have an America First... by Robert Lighthizer

I agree with President Trump that we should have an America First trade policy.

Robert Lighthizer

policy trade president america

Conservative statesmen from Alexander Hamilton to Ronald Reagan sometimes supported protectionism, and at other times, they leaned toward lowering barriers. But they always understood that trade policy was merely a tool for building a strong and independent country with a prosperous middle class.

Robert Lighthizer

building strong sometimes country

The recent blind faith some Republicans have shown toward free trade actually represents more of an aberration than a hallmark of true American conservatism. It's an anomaly that may well demand re-examination.

Robert Lighthizer

true free blind faith

Every Republican president starting with Lincoln - and for almost 100 years thereafter - generally supported tariffs, while Democrats tended to promote free trade.

Robert Lighthizer

free trade president years

Markets do not run better when manufacturing shifts to China largely because of the actions of its government. Nor do they become more efficient when Chinese companies are given special privileges in global markets, while American companies must struggle to compete with unfairly traded goods.

Robert Lighthizer

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Years of passivity and drift among U.S. policymakers have allowed the U.S. - China trade deficit to grow to the point where is widely recognized as a major threat to our economy.

Robert Lighthizer

grow china economy trade

While never the darling of pure free traders, measures to combat dumping, subsidies, and injurious import surges have always been deemed essential by open economies like the United States to maintain support for trade.

Robert Lighthizer

free never always support

Unlike national legal systems, there are precious few avenues to address judicial activism at the WTO. You pretty much have to gain consensus to change the agreements, or simply withdraw from the system. The first is nearly impossible, and the second would be - in the view of many - cataclysmic.

Robert Lighthizer

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