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Greer Defends USTR's FY 2027 Budget Before House Appropriations, Apr. 16, 2026

April 16, 2026 · House Appropriations Committee · 2:37:25

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What happened

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testified on April 16, 2026, before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies at its budget hearing on the Office of the United States Trade Representative — the subcommittee’s first budget hearing of the fiscal year 2027 cycle, in the committee’s official upload. Chairman Hal Rogers opened by noting the request totals $95 million, an increase of 8 percent over the fiscal year 2026 enacted level, funding personnel to protect national security, address unfair trade practices, and open foreign markets, at a moment when USTR was renegotiating the USMCA and had launched Section 301 investigations into forced labor and excess manufacturing capacity by more than 60 nations.

In his opening statement, published by USTR, Greer argued the trade policy was delivering: “President Trump’s trade policy is working for the American people. The U.S. goods trade deficit has decreased 24% from April 2025, when tariffs first went into place, through February 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier. U.S. exports reached $302 billion in January 2026 and nearly $315 billion in February 2026 – the highest monthly export figures in U.S. history.” He cited double-digit growth in food and agricultural exports in 2025, the highest annual increase in manufacturing labor productivity in fifteen years, average manufacturing wage gains of $1,800, and U.S. steel output exceeding Japan’s. The $7 million increase, he said, would hire additional negotiators, attorneys, economists, and enforcement personnel — the request supports 27 additional full-time employees, as the National Taxpayers Union’s hearing preview noted. Answering members, Greer said the funds would enforce existing agreements, assess trade opportunities, and negotiate additional deals, and that Section 301 investigations into discriminatory digital trade policies, including in South Korea and the European Union, require significant staffing, as the Thorn Run hearing summary recorded. He also disclosed he would travel to Mexico the following week for USMCA talks with Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard. Ranking Member Grace Meng criticized the tariff program as corrupt, nontransparent, and volatile, arguing it had raised costs for small businesses, housing construction, and families without adding domestic manufacturing capacity.

Why it matters

A budget hearing is where an agency’s program becomes a staffing claim: Greer’s request ties the tariff-and-deals strategy directly to headcount — more negotiators and enforcement staff to conclude and police the agreements he had been announcing in his agenda hearings. The results figures he put under oath here, the 24 percent deficit reduction and the record monthly exports, are the claims his FY 2027 record is checked against.

Scoreboard watch

This is a candidate item for the weekly scoreboard: USTR’s fiscal year 2027 budget request as presented April 16, 2026 — $95 million, up 8 percent, funding 27 additional staff for negotiations and enforcement — and Greer’s results claims (goods trade deficit down 24 percent year over year; record exports of $302 billion in January and nearly $315 billion in February 2026), each as stated at the hearing, to be checked against the enacted appropriation and the trade data.

Sources: House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, “Budget Hearing – The Office of the United States Trade Representative,” April 16, 2026 (committee’s official upload, embedded above); USTR, “Opening Statement by Ambassador Jamieson Greer Before the House Appropriations Committee,” April 16, 2026; Chairman Hal Rogers, opening remarks, April 16, 2026; Thorn Run Partners, hearing summary, April 16, 2026; National Taxpayers Union, hearing preview, April 2026. All figures and characterizations as stated by Ambassador Greer and committee members at the hearing.