The chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers said on Monday there are “conflicting narratives” on tariff negotiations coming from the Trump administration.
Answering a question on whether a deal is likely to take place before the president’s sweeping tariffs take effect on Wednesday, Stephen Miran said at a Hudson Institute think tank event, “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen or what’s not going to happen.”
“There are conflicting narratives because everybody’s got an opinion,” he said in response to a question about how White House officials seem to differ on whether the tariffs announced last week present an opportunity for negotiation.
It came after Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump’s trade advisor, wrote in a Financial Times op-ed on Monday that the new levies are “not a negotiation.” At the same time, US Trade Secretary Scott Bessent announced on the same day that he would lead trade negotiations with Japan.
“My opinion is that there are a variety of improvements that could take place, but at the end of the day, you know, the president is the decider,” Miran said, calling Trump a “talented negotiator” and outlining his previous work striking a trade agreement with China.
“Disagreement is how you can sort of, you know, enhance your arguments and avoid group think, and I think that’s very healthy,” he said.
Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
Miran added that the phone has been ringing “off the hook” in the White House since the tariff announcements last week. He advised foreign governments to continue calling to negotiate terms.
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“President Trump has made it clear he will no longer stand for other nations free-riding on our blood, sweat, and tears, whether in national security or trade,” he said.
Miran shared a list of ideas other countries could adopt to make the trade system “fairer.”
He expressed that other countries could “accept tariffs on their exports to the United States without retaliation,” open their markets and buy more from America, increase defense spending from the US and buy more US-made goods, invest in constructing factories in the US, or make financial contributions to the US Treasury.
