Trump is trying to wage an ambitious trade war with a shrinking army

Some of the errors are embarrassing, including letters sent to foreign dignitaries announcing new tariffs that went out addressed to the wrong titles and genders, according to one former official.

Key points

• Greer inherited an agency that was already shorthanded, and the Trump administration wasted no time in rolling out its new tariff-focused trade agenda.
• Others could undermine the president's drive to impose new duties on dozens of trading partners.
• The brain drain at the agency, including the departures of senior authorities responsible for leading trade negotiations with key allies, is continuing even as U.S.
• But the Liberation Day rollout was filled with errors.
• USTR authorities are getting "crushed" under the administration's workload, the person stated.

Others could undermine the president's drive to impose new duties on dozens of trading partners. A recent investigation into whether other countries' inaction on forced labor is giving their exports an unfair advantage was rushed out in a matter of months when previous investigations have taken more than a year. An announcement of a second investigation lacked basic details like what policies are harming U.S. Businesses. Tariff challengers have already seized on similar weaknesses in court.

"When you're rushing like that, right, it's kind of like crap in, crap out, " remarked one former Trump USTR official, who, like others interviewed by POLITICO, was granted anonymity to discuss the agency's inner workings. USTR authorities are getting "crushed" under the administration's workload, the person stated.

Notably, the brain drain at the agency, including the departures of senior authorities responsible for leading trade negotiations with key allies, is continuing even as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has pushed to expand the budget and stepped up hiring efforts.

According to A USTR spokesperson, under Greer 's leadership, the agency has "delivered an unprecedented volume of work on behalf of the American people that is thorough and outcomes-based."

Greer inherited an agency that was already shorthanded, and the Trump administration wasted no time in rolling out its new tariff-focused trade agenda. In the opening months of the administration, the president unveiled new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, before rolling out sweeping new duties on almost every U.S. Trading partner on April 2, 2025 – what the president dubbed "Liberation Day."

But the Liberation Day rollout was filled with errors. Along with slapping tariffs on an uninhabited island filled only with penguins. It was roundly mocked in the media, the administration sent letters informing countries of their new tariff rates that contained the wrong genders and titles for foreign authorities, stated the first former official. The calculation for assessing the tariff rates. It USTR eventually published on its website, indicated a simple back-of-the-envelope formula based on countries' trade surpluses with the U.S., an embarrassment for an agency that prides itself on its data-driven, reasoned trade analysis and deep technical knowledge.

For now, trump is trying to wage an ambitious trade war with a shrinking remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.