Washington, July 22 — The Trump administration on Wednesday claimed its trade strategy had sharply reduced America's economic dependence on China, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer telling lawmakers that the bilateral goods trade deficit had fallen to its lowest level in two decades.
Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee, Greer said President Donald Trump's tariff-driven trade policy had begun reshaping trade flows away from China while encouraging domestic manufacturing and production.
"Our trade deficit in goods with China fell to $200 billion in 2025, the lowest it's been since 2005, and China's share of total U.S. imports fell to about 9%, the lowest it has been since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001," Greer said.
He argued that the shift reflected the administration's broader effort to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains while increasing American exports and industrial production.
"The United States has not stopped trading with the world, but the composition of that trade has changed in a way that benefits Americans," Greer said. "We're selling more to the world than ever before because of our increased capacity to produce, and our imports are increasingly the type of goods that help us produce even more here in America."
Greer said the administration's reciprocal trade strategy had produced "19 framework or reciprocal trade deals, covering 32% of global gross domestic product."
He added that American goods and services exports had reached record levels between February and May this year despite widespread predictions that tariffs would hurt trade.
"Everyone said trade would collapse. We've never exported as much as we are now," he said.
China remained at the centre of several exchanges during the hearing.
Asked by Sen. Ron Wyden why Canada could soon face higher tariffs than China on some products, Greer insisted Beijing continued to face far steeper overall duties.
"We have 100% tariffs on EVs coming in from China. We have about 45 to 50% on most things coming in from China," he said, adding that steel and aluminium imports from China were subject to duties "well over 50%, some in triple digits."
Greer also defended the administration's handling of China's dominance in critical minerals.
He said Beijing had committed to expediting export control approvals for US companies and that supplies were continuing to reach the United States, although not at the desired pace.
"We are getting a flow of critical minerals from China. It's not as much as we would want. It's not at the pace we would want, but we are getting them. We're getting the majority of what we need," he said.
At the same time, he stressed that Washington was accelerating domestic production to reduce long-term dependence on Chinese supplies.
Greer also accused Beijing of using export controls for strategic purposes, particularly in fertilisers.
"They like to weaponise these types of things," he said. "They have their own goals, which are not the goals of capitalists or free marketeers. They are goals to have their own supply chain. They want to control fertiliser for their own use. They'll weaponise it at will."
China remains one of the United States' largest trading partners despite years of tariffs, export controls and technology restrictions imposed by successive administrations in Washington. Strategic competition between the two countries now extends beyond trade to advanced technology, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and military influence in the Indo-Pacific.