‘There is not a singular voice': On trade, countries don't know who in Trump's circle to listen to
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have all been meeting with foreign officials seeking agreements to stave off the crushing tariffs President Donald Trump has threatened to impose next month.
But Trump's three-headed negotiating team is often working at cross purposes, or at least that's how it seems to 11 foreign officials, business leaders and advisers on trade talks, who say they are receiving mixed messages from different departments, in what one person close to the talks described as a contest for Trump's loyalty.
Their differing approaches have occasionally slowed down progress, the foreign officials say, like when the Commerce Department tightened restrictions on some Chinese technology in May, quickly derailing an agreement with Beijing that was negotiated by Bessent.
'We have been shuffled around, there is no doubt about that,' said one diplomat from a country in Asia, granted anonymity to candidly discuss the state of talks. 'There is not a singular voice on this or most things from what's been observed.'
It underscores the hurdles that remain as the White House hurtles towards a July 8 deadline to achieve its promise of '90 deals in 90 days,' after the president paused a plan to levy tariffs on roughly 60 trading partners.
The most experienced negotiator, Greer, is the furthest from Trump's ear. Bessent and Lutnick are closer to the president — but lack the in-the-weeds expertise on trade. Foreign officials and industry leaders are struggling to find anyone willing to engage on technical details and many doubt their concerns are reaching the right official — let alone being relayed to Trump.
'From what I hear from foreign delegations, this does not seem to be working at all and is why there aren't a bunch of deals being concluded,' Inu Manak, a trade policy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said. 'It sounds like Commerce, Treasury and USTR are negotiating different things without keeping each other in the loop.'
The White House and its allies have adamantly defended the Trump administration's use of not one, but three primary trade negotiators as they race to hash out new deals, saying that Bessent, Lutnick and Greer are working together to present proposals to the president, who is the ultimate dealmaker.
'It's very natural. The administration has always worked the team on trade, and I'm not surprised that there's many people working on the same issue,' said Everett Eissenstat, who was deputy director of the National Economic Council during Trump's first term. 'Everybody wants to help the president meet his objectives, and then when the president says, 'these are priorities,' they're all going to jump and try to engage and deliver.'
The White House views Bessent and Lutnick as the 'big picture' negotiators while Greer brings the technical expertise, though aides say they see all three men as equals. Aides say Lutnick has joined talks with China and Japan, which were originally only under the purview of Bessent, because of the role the Commerce Department plays in setting sector-specific tariffs on products like cars and steel.
To the extent there is any disconnect in negotiations, aides attribute it to the challenges of implementing the details of some of the more general policies agreed to by one of Trump's Cabinet officials.
'I think the mixup may come from the fact that trade stuff is obviously very nuanced and very legalese once you get into the nitty-gritty of it,' said one White House official, granted anonymity to discuss strategy. 'When you start getting into the details, that's when things get tied up a little more. But that's not a division-of-labor issue. That's just sort of the nature of how these negotiations go.'
The Treasury Department, the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative's office declined to comment.
But the confusion felt by foreign officials continues to cloud the negotiations. Some countries worry that any concessions they make could be abruptly reversed or that new demands might be introduced late in the process.
The Trump administration has directed Greer's office to focus more intimately on smaller economies that are viewed as less of a priority; any agreements still require presidential approval. Commerce and Treasury have taken roughly equal roles in negotiations with some of the largest trading partners, such as the European Union, Japan and China, two people close to the White House said. The result is a less streamlined approach for countries that are viewed as the most critical targets.
'The three of them had slightly different opinions in the negotiations and it was a bit confusing,' said a person familiar with trade talks with both Japan and South Korea. That mixed messaging seems to reflect internal rivalries between Trump's top trade negotiators, they said.
'I think it's a loyalty contest, where they're all trying to give Trump more of what he wants,' he said.
After Trump threatened to increase tariffs on the European Union, citing a lack of progress between the two countries, his call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in the U.S. establishing a clear structure for different levels of talks — Lutnick for the sectoral tariffs, like those on cars; and Greer for the 'reciprocal' tariffs, including a baseline 10 percent duty the U.S. has levied on all trading partners, as well as potentially higher tariff Trump might tack on after his July deadline passes.
That structure reflects each man's responsibilities over trade policy. While Greer is the administration's top trade official — and has been a factor in nearly all of the negotiations — Bessent has been tapped to lead discussions with Asian countries.
Meanwhile, because the industry-specific tariffs fall under the Commerce Department, Lutnick is in charge of any efforts to lower tariffs on automobiles and steel, as well as pending tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, lumber and copper.
The rotating cast has frustrated Japan, a country that the administration has repeatedly insisted is close to a deal.
'Why does the trio of Bessent, Greer and Lutnick need to come out for one minister? It's unclear who [of them] talks to Trump,' said one Japanese official.
Some of that confusion was on display in London last week, when Bessent, who was appointed as the lead negotiator with China, had to leave early to testify in front of Congress. That left Lutnick and Greer to wrap up discussions with the Chinese, who had been told Bessent would be the point person for the negotiations.
The shifting landscape has left some observers wondering whether the U.S. will be able to secure a substantive deal with China — and if the administration even wants one. So far, the U.S. has only secured a written deal with the UK, which represents less than 3 percent of the U.S. total trade.
'What else is going to stick?' said Derek Scissors, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who focuses on China policy. 'I don't believe in the capacity of either Secretary Bessent or Secretary Lutnick to write an agreement with China of any specificity. Jamieson can if he's allowed to, but he's the least politically important of the three,' Scissors said. 'Bessent has no China background. And Lutnick, well, I'll just let that dot fade into the distance in terms of his abilities.'
Throughout the tariff talks, White House aides have pushed back on those characterizations and noted that the president trusts all of his advisers.
Businesses representing the technology and manufacturing sectors are similarly bemoaning the lack of clarity, and have faced roadblocks during attempts to shape a wide range of trade policy from tariffs to export controls.
'We are seeing the legitimate difficulties from engaging with 100-plus governments all at the same time,' said one corporate lobbyist representing the tech sector. 'We're six months into this administration and we're still working out personnel and different policy approaches, and it's not clear how exactly different agencies … are coming at this,' the lobbyist said.
But, even as the deadline for higher tariffs approaches, the White House appears nonplussed by the lack of deals. The stock market has settled since its quick drop in early April, when Trump launched his 'reciprocal' tariffs of as high as 50 percent on certain trading partners. Republican lawmakers, while quietly pushing for deals, have not raised much public criticism.
'We're all encouraging the president and USTR and the White House to make sure these trade agreements are rapidly being considered and resolved,' said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas). 'So we hope that in the queue, that there are lots of things going on.'
And, perhaps most importantly, Trump believes high tariffs are good policy, Eissenstat pointed out.
'One of the things that people forget is that the president's happy if this all ends in tariffs. He's said it.'
Koen Verhelst, Phelim Kine and Doug Palmer contributed to this report.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
19 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bolton Says the US Mission in Iran Is Not Done Yet
John Bolton, former National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump, talks about the attack against Iran, how Iran could respond and the prospect of a wider war in the Middle East. He is on a special edition of "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump blasts Thomas Massie on Truth Social, threatens to primary NKY congressman
Donald Trump and Republican Thomas Massie are continuing to butt heads as the president berated the Northern Kentucky congressman in a recent Truth Social post. Much like he did in May, Trump once again called Massie a "grandstander' in the June 22 post after the representative of Kentucky's 4th Congressional District has repeatedly opposed the administration's policies. "Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky is not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is. Actually, MAGA doesn't want him, doesn't know him, and doesn't respect him. He is a negative force who almost always Votes 'NO,' no matter how good something may be." Trump wrote in the Truth Social post. "MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!" The two share a complicated history, with Massie upsetting Trump the first time in 2024 after Massie initially endorsed candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during his 2024 presidential bid, though he did endorse Trump just days before the election. Massie also publicly opposed Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," on Instagram in May, stating that it will add $20 trillion of federal debt over 10 years. Trump's most recent social media reaction followed Massie's fiery response on X to his administration's announcement of the bombings in Iran, calling the act "unconstitutional". Massie went on to say: "When two countries are bombing each other daily in a hot war, and a third country joins the bombing, that's an act of war. I'm amazed at the mental gymnastics being undertaken by neocons in DC (and their social media bots) to say we aren't at war… so they can make war." Massie recently joined Ro Khanna, D-Calif., in introducing a resolution that would block U.S. involvement in the conflict between Iran and Israel without congressional approval. Massie's stance drew a rebuke from Trump himself, who wrote in the June 22 post that Massie is "weak, ineffective" and "disrespectful to our military." Trump again promised to back a Republican primary challenge to Massie. Previously, Massie told The Enquirer, "I think every time that I've made my case to the people, even if it's been contrary to what the president wanted at the time, it's eventually worked out for me. And so I'm going to stick with doing what I think is right and making my case to the people." Massie represents almost two dozen counties in and around Northern Kentucky. All of those counties voted for Trump in the past three presidential elections. But while other GOP politicians have lost reelection after losing Trump's support, Massie has dominated every election cycle since he took office in 2012. He was primaried by two candidates in 2024 and beat them with about 76% of the vote. Enquirer reporter Jolene Almendarez contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trump fires back at Rep. Thomas Massie in newest Truth Social post
Fox News
39 minutes ago
- Fox News
Extra: Deliveries, Taxis, War … And The Future Of Drones
The White House says President Trump's executive orders on drones, signed earlier this month, will 'unleash American drone dominance.' It directs the Federal Aviation Administration to expedite the development of new rules governing the operation and flight paths of unmanned aircraft systems. It will also loosen some regulations, create new ones, and attempt to integrate drones into air traffic more effectively. Michael Healander is the founder and CEO of the drone operations management company, Airspace Link. He was on the White House call about the executive orders. Healander joined FOX News Rundown host Chris Foster to discuss the new rules and how drones may be used in the future, including package deliveries and air taxis, also known as flying cars. We often must cut interviews short during the week, but we thought you might like to hear the full interview. Today on FOX News Rundown Extra, we will share our entire interview with Airspace Link CEO Michael Healander, allowing you to learn even more about the incredible future of drones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
