Trump has not asked Lighthizer to reprise US trade chief post, sources say
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Mr Robert Lighthizer was one of the leading figures in Donald Trump's trade war with China during his first term in office.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - Former US trade representative Robert Lighthizer has not been asked by President-elect Donald Trump to return to the agency overseeing trade policy in his new administration, contrary to a Financial Times report, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The FT earlier reported that Mr Lighthizer had been asked to lead Trump’s trade policy from the Office of the US Trade Representative, citing unnamed people familiar with the talks among the Trump transition team.
One of the two sources familiar with the matter called the report “untrue”. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mr Lighthizer declined to comment on the report and on deliberations within Trump’s transition team about Cabinet positions. The long-time Washington trade lawyer advised Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Mr Lighthizer was one of the leading figures during the then President’s first term in the imposition of hefty tariffs on Chinese imports and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta, with Mexico and Canada.
He has frequently been mentioned in Republican circles as a potential candidate for other Trump Cabinet positions, including treasury secretary and commerce secretary.
The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment. On Nov 7, Trump announced he had picked Ms Susie Wiles
The President-elect aims to kick the aggressive trade agenda from his first four-year term into higher gear, with across-the-board 10 per cent tariffs on imported goods and even higher levies on imports from China and elsewhere. If enacted, they would push up consumer prices.
China's top envoy to the United States warned on Nov 7
