Secretary of Everything: Jared Kushner Adds ‘US-China Negotiator’ to Already Long List of Duties
A new report from Reuters claims that Jared Kushner is a taking larger role in ongoing trade negotiations with China over the next two weeks. This responsibility appears to be yet another on Kushner’s already long list of White House duties.
Prior to the election of President Donald Trump, Kushner has little to no experience in foreign affairs and the political gamesmanship of Washington D.C. But he played a significant role in the election of his father-in-law and, as result, has been rewarded with a growing number of responsibilities.
Reporting for Reuters, and David Lawder and Jeff Mason report:
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has added another role to his long list of White House duties – U.S.-China trade negotiator – as Washington and Beijing try to reach an initial agreement to avoid new U.S. tariffs on Dec. 15.
People familiar with the talks said Kushner, who helped bring the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) to fruition, has increased his direct involvement in the negotiations with China over the past two weeks.
While the talks have made some progress, these people said the two sides have not yet agreed on the extent to which the United States will remove existing tariffs on Chinese goods and on specific commitments by China to increase purchases of U.S. agriculture products.
Reuters goes on to report “a White House official confirmed Kushner’s involvement but declined to provide specific details on the influence he has had on the negotiations.”
In 2017 political commentators took note of the growing list Kushner’s White House duties, which included, among other things, leading Middle East peace efforts, improving government efficiencies, improving North Atlantic trade, and criminal justice reform.
Over the past year, however, questions about his security clearance appeared to push Kushner’s role to the sidelines a bit, but it appears that Kushner’s diplomatic “time-out” might be over.
