CBS: U.S. Treasury Secretary and Trump Once Had Heated Debate on Tariff Policy

On April 16th, CBS News, citing multiple sources, stated that although the White House has been attempting to claim that Trump administration officials have been unified on U.S. tariff policy, internal differences over the policy had emerged weeks prior to Trump signing the so-called "reciprocal tariff" executive order on April 2nd. A senior Trump adviser was reported to have warned in private conversations that some tariff proposals could have a catastrophic impact on global financial markets and send the U.S. economy into a downward spiral. CBS reported that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bennett and Trump's trade and manufacturing policy adviser Peter Navarro had a confrontation in late March in the office of White House Chief of Staff Susan Wells. According to multiple sources, Navarro advocated for a uniform 25% tariff on $3 trillion worth of imported goods, while Bennett, a former Wall Street investor, warned that this move would trigger market turmoil and outlined various risk scenarios. The report said that there was constantly heated rhetoric being exchanged.