Former Trump trade chief says tariff war backfiring
Gary Cohen warns tariffs have impacted US manufacturing and been a ‘convenient excuse’ for China to slow overheating economy

Donald Trump’s former chief economic advisor has warned that the US president’s ongoing trade war has backfired, and is actually harming the US economy more than China.
Speaking to the BBC, Gary Cohen said the tariff battle had had a “dramatic impact” on US manufacturing and capital investment while it provided “a very convenient excuse” for China to slow down its overheated economy.
The former Goldman Sachs chairman served as director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration from January 2017 to April 2018. He repeatedly clashed with the president over his “America First” economic nationalism policy, finally resigning last year after Trump decided to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminium.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Around the same time, the Trump administration slapped 25% tariffs on $250bn (£206bn) worth of Chinese imports, before China retaliated by targeting $110bn in hiked tariffs on US products later in 2018.
“Cohn is less than flattering about the US president's policies,” says BBC North America editor Jon Sopel. “He thinks the trade wars have created geopolitical uncertainty, which is stopping businesses from investing. Strikingly he also thinks that, for all the rhetoric, the trade war with China is hurting the US more than it is the Chinese”.
Instead of punishing China, tariffs have in fact damaged job creation in the American manufacturing sector while allowing the Chinese government “to control its economy as desired, despite tariffs, by changing the availability of credit”, says The Independent.
The US had threatened to tax another $300bn in Chinese imports earlier this year before moving towards more conciliatory rhetoric, but after declaring a temporary truce in June, US and Chinese trade negotiators have failed to find a breakthrough to end the 18-month impasse. And while both sides agreed that the latest discussions in Shanghai this week were “constructive”, “there’s still no indication that the trade war will come to an end any time soon,” says CNN Business.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Major issues still to be resolved include intellectual property rights, firm commitments on the purchase of US agriculture goods and the blacklisting of Chinese firms.
Within the context of a protracted trade war Cohen’s comments will not have been well received by Trump, but with a growing economy, record employment and interest rates falling, concerns about the impact of his protectionist trade policies will for now at least be minimal.
-
The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson is ‘magnetic’ in gritty biopic
The Week Recommends The wrestler-turned-Hollywood-actor takes on the role of troubled UFC champion Mark Kerr
-
Shadow Ticket: Thomas Pynchon’s first novel in over a decade
The Week Recommends Zany whodunnit about a private eye in 1930s Milwaukee could be the 88-year-old author’s ‘last hurrah’
-
Sora 2 and the fear of an AI video future
In the Spotlight Cutting-edge video-creation app shares ‘hyperrealistic’ AI content for free
-
The struggles of Aston Martin: burning cash not rubber
In the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
-
Why are beef prices rising? And how is politics involved?
Today's Big Question Drought, tariffs and consumer demand all play a role
-
Labor: Federal unions struggle to survive Trump
Feature Trump moves to strip union rights from federal workers
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
Switzerland could experience unique economic problems from Trump's tariffs
In the Spotlight The current US tariff rate on Switzerland is among the highest in the world
-
Jaguar's Adrian Mardell steps down: a Maga mauling
Speed Read Jaguar Land Rover had come under fire for 'woke' advertising campaign
-
Is Trump's tariffs plan working?
Today's Big Question Trump has touted 'victories', but inflation is the 'elephant in the room'