- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has publicly defended Trump’s tariffs, but in private, he has reportedly told friends he’s “not thrilled” with the president’s impulsive approach. Lutnick has helped lower tensions at times with U.S. trading partners like Canada, but he is also reportedly worried Trump’s rhetoric on tariffs may make it harder to secure a strong deal with Canada and Mexico as the first review for the USMCA trade agreement is set for July.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been the biggest supporter of Trump’s tariffs, but behind the scenes, new reporting claims he’s not happy with the president’s whipsaw approach.
Lutnick has reportedly told friends in private that he’s “not thrilled” with Trump’s habit of escalating tariffs on a whim instead of using them for future concessions from other countries, CNN reported.
Most recently, Trump displayed this behavior with a fiery rebuke of Canada. After the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, Doug Ford, the premier of Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, shot back with a 25% surcharge on electricity exported from Canada to more than 1 million homes and businesses in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. Trump was furious with the response and threatened Canada with a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from the country.
Lutnick was reportedly caught off guard by Trump’s threat, and he spoke on the phone with Ford on March 11 to work things out. Following the call, Canada backed away from the electricity surcharge while the U.S. dropped the idea of a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, and said it would face the same 25% tax as every other country.
With his many TV appearances and interviews, Lutnick has taken on the role of Trump’s tariff cheerleader and defender. When Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imported steel and aluminum, as well as $14.2 billion on other goods from technology to sports equipment, Lutnick called Canada’s response “tone deaf” and insisted Trump’s tariffs were for national security purposes.
Privately, Lutnick is not a strict supporter of tariffs or free market trade, CNN reported, citing friends and advisers. He does, however, agree with Trump about the leverage the U.S. economy gives it over other countries.
“He believes: ‘If we have the power and upper hand and full strength of the US economy, why are we not using it?’” an unnamed executive who allegedly discussed the topic with Lutnick told CNN.
Still, Lutnick has privately worried Trump’s rhetoric may make it harder to secure a strong deal with Canada and Mexico as the first review of the free-trade agreement between the countries, USMCA, is set for July, a senior Trump adviser told CNN.
“He’d much prefer to do this as part of negotiations for USMCA,” the senior adviser said. “He’s afraid [Trump] has jumped the shark.”
In a statement, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Lutnick has been a staunch defender of Trump’s economic agenda.
“Every member of the Trump administration is playing from the same playbook – President Trump’s playbook – to deliver economic prosperity for the American people,” Desai said in a statement to Fortune.
Lutnick, the billionaire former CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has been friends with Trump for years, and he donated $1 million to his first inauguration in 2017. During Trump’s latest campaign for office, Lutnick donated $5 million of personal funds to Trump’s PAC and raised $15 million for his presidential effort through a fundraiser at his Hamptons home in August 2024, CNN reported.
Still, as commerce secretary, Lutnick is in his second-choice job in the administration. He reportedly lobbied hard to be named secretary of the U.S. Treasury, but was ultimately passed over for Scott Bessent, the former CEO and chief investment officer of Key Square Capital Management.
