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    • Robert Lighthizer: Who is Robert Lighthizer, who Trump asked to become US trade chief?
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    Robert Lighthizer: Who is Robert Lighthizer, who Trump asked to become US trade chief?

    Umito Posted on

    Who is Robert Lighthizer, who Trump asked to become US trade chief?
    Trump has asked Robert Lighthizer to return to his role as trade chief that he held during the previous Trump administration.

    After his first surprise announcement of Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, Donald Trump has now asked his former trade representative Robert Lighthizer return to work. The Financial Times reported this, citing several people familiar with discussions within Trump’s transition team. The report said Lighthizer expressed interest in the Treasury secretary job, but that position would likely go to a financier like hedge fund managers Scott Bessent and John Paulson.

    5 things to know about Robert Lighthizer

    1. Lightizer, 77, is a staunch protectionist and his ascension to this trade role will make China nervous given Lighthizer and Trump’s close alignment on trade policy. Trump has pledged to impose high tariffs on all imports into the United States.
    2. Trump and Lighthizer have always been on good terms and Lightizer did not suffer Trump’s wrath during the first presidency.
    3. Lighthizer spent three decades as an attorney at the Wall Street law firm Skadden Arps, where he fought imports from China on behalf of the U.S. steel industry. In the early 2000s, he helped persuade the George W. Bush administration to impose tariffs on steel imports to protect American industry.
    4. A former lawyer for the U.S. steel industry, Laughthizer was known for his frequent clashes with the World Trade Organization during his previous term.
    5. Lighthizer is widely respected for his experience in his area of ​​expertise and is nicknamed “the adult in the room.”

    The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to the request Trump sent to Lightizer, FT added.
    Trump aims to kick his first term’s aggressive trade agenda into high gear with across-the-board 10% tariffs on imported goods and even higher levies on imports from China and elsewhere. If adopted, they would lead to an increase in consumer prices. China’s top envoy to the United States warned Thursday that there are no winners in tariff or trade wars, nor in science, technology or industrial wars.

    Umito
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