President Trump’s surprise announcement of a new 25 per cent tariff on steel could be the blow that pushes economic advisor Gary Cohn to act on long-discussed resignation rumors, some confidants are predicting.
President Trump announced Thursday he would slap a new 25 per cent tariff on steel after a prolonged internal battle.
Trump announced the decision in ad hoc comments to reporters while the cameras rolled, causing an immediate drop in the stock market.
The former Goldman Sachs exec was on the side arguing against measures deemed protectionist that critics fear could provoke a trade war with China.
‘It’s just something he feels very passionate about and he is incredibly good at making the case,” a source close to Cohn told Politico, describing the move as a harsh blow to Cohn.
Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn could leave over new steel and aluminum tariffs, some people close to him are predicting
Another person close to Cohn said he wouldn’t be surprised if he left eventually over the decision.
Outside advisor Larry Kudlow told the publication Cohn could leave over the issue. ‘You will wind up hurting millions of people to help 140,000 people in the steel industry. You will be hurting car buyers. Is that really what you want to do?’ he asked.
It isn’t the first time Cohn’s allies have hinted at a departure – in a move that could carry policy leverage. After Trump’s response to Charlottesville – when the president condemned violence on ‘both sides’ in a conflagration that involved Neo Nazis – Cohn allies also signaled he could go.
Cohn, who is Jewish, even drafted a resignation letter, the New York Times reported.
‘I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position,’ he told the Financial Times. But Cohn was determined to see through the effort to enact sweeping tax cuts.
Last month, following passage of a major tax cut passage, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Cohn would stay on.
Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner take part in a meeting with US President Donald Trump and members of Congress on trade in the Cabinet Room of the White House on February 13, 2018 in Washington, DC.
‘I have no reason to know of any personnel change whatsoever. Gary has stated that he is committed to being here,’ she told reporters.
She wouldn’t provide any additional details about the plan, including whether it would apply across-the-board or whether the president would carve out certain countries or otherwise try to mitigate the effects on U.S. industries that rely on the raw materials.
Those details give Cohn an incentive to stick around as the tariff policy gets finalized.
Trump told industry leaders Thursday he has decided to impose steel tariffs of 25 percent and a 10 per cent aluminum tariff – sending the market into a tailspin amid fears it could prompt a trade war.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (L) and Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn walk across the South Lawn upon return to the White House on February 1, 2018 in Washington
Trump spoke off the cuff about the move, which is designed to target cheap foreign imports at an Oval Office event that the White House invited reporters to observe at the last minute.
‘It’ll be for a long period of time,’ Trump said of the move, as the TV cameras rolled.
The president said the decision would restore jobs and even restore an industry that has been in decline for decades – although his comments precipitated a steep drop in stocks.
‘We’re bringing it all back,’ Trump claimed, referring to the nation’s shrinking steel industry.
Trump’s communication director Hope Hicks and Trump’s economic adviser Gary Cohn speak before observing a moment of silence in remembrance of those lost in the 9/11 attacks at the White House in Washington, U.S. September 11, 2017. Hicks announced this week she is leaving the White House
‘They won’t be dumping on our country. What they do is they dump massive amounts of product in our country and it just kills, it destroys our companies and our jobs,’ Trump said Thursday.
Trump’s comments followed reports that the tariff was on, then off.
By the time White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders briefed reporters, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had suffered a 500 point drop (though it ended the day down closer to 400 points).
Her comments downplayed a fierce internal struggle.
‘This is something that the president has been talking about for a long time,’ Sanders said when pressed about it. ‘I don’t think it came as a surprise to anybody here,’ she added, saying Trump has been talking about it ‘for decades,’ she said.