Forum
OPRR
Finance
Specials
On-chain Eco
Entry
Podcasts
Data
WSJ: U.S. Treasury Secretary and Commerce Secretary successfully persuaded President Trump to postpone the implementation of the aggressive tariff plan while Trade Advisor Navarro was absent
BlockBeats News, April 19: According to The Wall Street Journal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly persuaded President Trump to postpone the implementation of his aggressive global tariff plan on April 9 while White House senior trade adviser Peter Navarro was absent.
Multiple sources revealed that on that morning, when Navarro was scheduled to meet with White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett in another area, Bessent and Lutnick took advantage of this gap, quickly went to the Oval Office, and proposed to Trump the idea of temporarily delaying some tariffs while Navarro was unable to immediately counter their points. Under their persuasion, Trump agreed to pause some tariffs and immediately announced it to stabilize the market. One source said they even waited until Trump finished posting on Truth Social before leaving, catching Navarro off guard.
Trump's post caused a sharp rise in the stock market, and the bond market stabilized accordingly. On that day, he explained that the decision was made due to noticing "unusual volatility" in the financial markets, especially warning signals in the bond market. However, just hours earlier, he had posted on Truth Social asking the public to "stay calm," hinting that the original policy might be maintained.
BlockBeats Note: Peter Navarro is a White House senior trade adviser and a professor of economics at the University of California. Navarro was favored by Trump for his views on trade and served as the head of the National Trade Council during Trump's first term. He was sentenced to four months in prison in 2024 for contempt of Congress, during which Trump reportedly told others, "Navarro is in jail for me." On April 6 this year, Navarro said in a Fox interview, "You don't lose money if you don't sell your stocks," sparking market discussion.
