Donald Trump asks arch protectionist Robert Lighthizer to run US trade policy

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

51% : Writing in the Financial Times just before the US election, Lighthizer blamed free trade for the loss of American manufacturing jobs and called the US trade deficit "alarming".
47% : But the potential reappointment to the pivotal trade role of an arch protectionist will make US trading allies, as well as China nervous, given how closely Lighthizer and Trump are aligned on trade policy.
44% : "Facing a system that is seriously failing our country, Trump has decided that action must be taken," he wrote.
39% : Trump had considered Lighthizer for commerce secretary but the people familiar with the personnel discussions said the president-elect was most likely to offer that job to Linda McMahon, the billionaire co-chair of Trump's presidential transition team.
31% : Trump has vowed to impose high tariffs on all imports into the US and especially Chinese goods.
30% : A spokesperson for Trump also did not immediately respond.
26% : Trump has already signalled his opposition to the deal, but Lighthizer would almost certainly be a strong opponent of the deal.
11% : Lighthizer was highly regarded by Trump and was one of the few top level officials who did not suffer his wrath during Trump's first term as president.

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