Top Trump officials, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, are receiving panicked calls from business leaders pushing the administration to outline a more predictable tariff agenda, people familiar with the talks told The Wall Street Journal.
The calls are said to have come from chief executives and lobbyists as many in the business community have stopped trying to change President Donald Trump’s mind on trade issues, but are still asking for clarity from the White House.
Trump and top staffers met with leaders from IBM, Qualcomm, HP, and other tech companies in the Roosevelt Room in the White House on Monday, where some of the CEOs shared their concerns about the tariffs, noting that they could damage their industry, a person who took part in the meeting told The Journal. Trump told the press that those at the meeting spoke about investing in America.
The varying messages coming from Trump and his aides have prompted worries among some Republicans that the president doesn’t have a proper economic plan. Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed that the economy needed a “detox” and Trump has noted that the tariffs could lead to a disturbance in the economy and some economic pain. On Sunday, he didn’t rule out the possibility of a recession.
On Monday, there was a selloff on Wall Street that destroyed all major index gains since November. The following day, on Tuesday, Trump played down the idea that a recession may come while still reiterating his commitment to tariffs. Trump and his staff have made several last-minute changes to polices, announcing exemptions and at times full reversals.
The president’s actions on tariffs have prompted concerns among some economic officials in his own administration, such as on the National Economic Council. They worry that the tariffs and the uncertainty surrounding the administration’s trade policies are crashing the stock market and leading to price rises on a range of products and goods, from energy to construction materials, those familiar told The Journal.
Similarly, Trump’s economic advisers have warned the president that the tariffs may harm economic growth and the market, but the commander-in-chief has been unaffected so far.
The White House told The Journal that there’s no division among the economic advisors.
“Every member of the Trump administration is playing from the same playbook—President Trump’s playbook—to enact an America First agenda of tariffs, tax cuts, deregulation, and the unleashing of American energy,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the paper.
Meanwhile, Desai confirmed to The Journal that top officials have received calls from executives, noting that Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, has spoken to almost a dozen executives in the last two days.
But the tariff announcements and the retaliatory measures put together by traditional allies and foes alike, have resurfaced tensions among Trump’s economic staff.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who’s in charge of the president’s trade agenda, has at times not informed other economic aides, such as Hassett, according to The Journal. Others who have been excluded include U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and officials at the Council of Economic Advisers.
Lutnick appeared on Fox News last week, announcing that Mexico and Canada may soon come to an agreement with the U.S. that would avoid some of the 25 percent tariffs Trump put in place. That came as a surprise for Greer and staff at the Council of Economic Advisors, forcing them to rush to figure out a solution, convincing Trump to enact a one-month pause on tariffs on goods that comply with the trade agreement between the three countries.
“Secretary Lutnick’s long and immensely successful private sector career makes him an integral addition to the Trump administration’s trade and economic team,” Desai told The Journal.
Appearing on CBS News on Tuesday evening, Lutnick pushed back at the narrative surrounding the rollout of the administration’s trade agenda.
“It is not chaotic, and the only one who thinks it’s chaotic is someone who’s being silly,” he said.
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