U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday that President Trump is considering using arms sales to Taiwan as part of broader U.S.-China negotiations, noting recent past presidents also paused sales.
“Well, just remember, the United States has sold arms to Taiwan for many years. It’s also had many times when it — when it didn’t sell them. You know, President [Barack] Obama, you know, he had a pause on arms sales. President [George W.] Bush did,” Mr. Greer said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
“Right now, the president’s considering how to move forward on that. The reality is, it’s really important for the United States and China to have a stable relationship,” he added. “These are two important economies.”
Mr. Greer noted that the issue of Taiwan arms sales is something the Chinese “always raise.”
He clarified that tariffs were not discussed directly between Mr. Trump and President Xi Jinping during their summit last week in Beijing because staff-level negotiations had already resolved those issues.
Mr. Greer said he plans to establish a “board of trade” with China to discuss tariff treatment for specific non-sensitive goods such as agricultural products, Boeing aircraft and medical devices.
He argued that the Beijing summit’s biggest achievement was restoring stable communication channels with China, which he said had broken down under the Biden administration.
He cited several tangible positive results from the meeting including:
• China re-registering U.S. beef and chicken export facilities.
• China agreeing to review U.S. biotechnology traits/approvals.
• A deal involving 200 Boeing aircraft.
• Agreement on Korean peninsula denuclearization as a shared goal.
Asked if the Chinese made any commitments to try to open the Strait of Hormuz, Mr. Greer said that Mr. Trump did not ask China to take direct action on the strait but did secure a commitment that Beijing would not provide material support to Iran.
“The Chinese have a clear interest in having those Straits open. Again, I was in these meetings and that’s what — that’s what the Chinese said,” he said. “You know they want to make sure no one is there imposing a toll.”
