So far, President Donald Trump has been piloting his second term like Maverick from “Top Gun.” With one exception. The tariff rollout has been FUBAR, which is troubling since it’s Trump’s signature economic policy issue.
There have been glaring missteps along the way, repeated pauses, confused and conflicting messaging, turf wars. It’s draining public support and causing real economic problems as businesses can’t make plans while all this is in flux.
We aren’t privy to insider gossip to speculate why this is. But we can say that Trump needs to get his tariff act together, and fast.
Consider what has transpired in just the past two weeks:
Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement turned out to be a disaster. Not just because an island inhabited only by penguins was listed as a trade abuser, but because it quickly became apparent that the math used to set tariff rates made no sense.
While Trump called the tariffs reciprocal, they weren’t. They were instead based on trade imbalances with other nations, which even Trump supporters pointed out is a flawed metric.
Then, less than a week later, Trump announced a 90-day pause on Liberation Day.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the pause was part of “his strategy all along,” but U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testified at a House hearing that he wasn’t aware of the pause until after it was announced, CNN reported.
This past Friday, Trump announced that smartphones, laptops, and the like would be exempt from tariffs. Then, over the weekend, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that they were only temporary. And Trump on Sunday posted on Truth Social that “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook. There was no Tariff ‘exception’ announced on Friday. These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’”
Forbes has counted eight flip-flops by the administration on tariffs and trade since Liberation Day.
Meanwhile, there’s news that two camps in the White House are fighting for dominance – team tariff, led by Peter Navarro, and team econ, led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Here’s how Semafor put it:
President Donald Trump’s economic advisers are becoming a team of rivals … Ask Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett about negotiating on tariffs, for example — and you’ll hear four different answers ….
The mixed messages point to fundamental disagreements within the administration about how to address trade deficits, according to more than a dozen lawmakers, lobbyists and analysts interviewed for this story. Trump’s advisers sound united behind the spirit of his trade agenda but far less aligned on its execution — differences driven by both personality and ideology.
When Trump announced the pause, the word went out that Navarro had been sidelined and Bessent was in the driver’s seat on trade. (Elon Musk called Navarro a “moron.”)
On Sunday, Navarro was on “Meet the Press” insisting that was not the case.
“I’m here. I’m here on ‘Meet the Press,’” Navarro replied. “I think you’d like to think this is the top show on Sunday.”
There’s nothing wrong with having leaders within an administration debating an issue. Such internal debates, in fact, are healthy and often lead to better policy proposals that can get more widespread support.
But why in the world are Trump’s advisers fighting over who will fly the plane and where it’s heading while it’s in flight when those decisions should have been made before it took off?
Trump can fix this. But he needs to take the controls, stop jerking the plane around, deal with the turbulence, and reassure everyone in the cabin with calm consistent messaging, and stay on target.
And quick. Before the passengers start fighting over the barf bags.
Issues & Insights was founded by seasoned journalists of the IBD Editorials page. Our mission is to provide timely, fact-based reporting and deeply informed analysis on the news of the day – without fear or favor.
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TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. U.S. And Ukraine Near Deal On Critical Minerals - TIPP Insights
Ukraine and the United States have made “substantial progress” on a new minerals agreement, with a memorandum expected to be signed soon, Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Wednesday.
The deal, still in draft form, aims to boost investment and economic growth in both countries.
2. Rubio, Witkoff Head To Paris For Ukraine War Talks - France 24
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy, travel to Paris on Wednesday for talks with their European counterparts on ending Russia's war in Ukraine.
Rubio and Trump will hold talks with top European diplomats, French government spokeswoman Sophie Primas confirmed Wednesday. French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Rubio and Witkoff on Thursday, according to diplomatic sources.
Trump's push for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war has yet to yield fruit. Russian missile strikes Sunday in the Ukrainian city of Sumy that killed at least 35 people underscored the difficulties of getting Moscow to agree to ceasefire commitments.
3. Planning For A Ukraine Cease-Fire, Turkey Hosts Talks On Black Sea Security - RFE/RL
Military leaders from several nations are quietly holding under-the-radar talks at the headquarters of the Turkish Navy in Ankara this week, focusing on Black Sea security in the event of a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine.
The meetings come days after two European diplomatic sources told RFE/RL that Turkey had declared it was willing to "assume responsibility for the maritime dimension" of a multinational military deployment in Ukraine. The 1936 Montreux Convention places strict limits on the tonnage that non-littoral navies can deploy in the Black Sea and for how long. This makes Turkey, which has one of NATO's strongest militaries, the natural key player.
4. Trump Tariffs: China 'Not Afraid' Of Trade War With U.S. - D.W.
China said it was not afraid of fighting a trade war with the U.S. The comments from the Chinese Foreign Ministry come a day after Donald Trump said "the ball is in China's court" as Washington looks to pressure Beijing into negotiating a trade deal.
China has named Li Chenggang to replace Wang Shouwen as its top international trade negotiator, as Beijing pushes back against Trump's 145% tariffs.
5. China's Xi Meets Malaysian Leaders, Vows To 'Safeguard' Asia Allies - AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged greater cooperation with Malaysia in the face of "shocks to the global order", during the Chinese leader's regional tour against the backdrop of a U.S. trade war.
Malaysia premier Anwar Ibrahim said China has been "a rational, strong and reliable partner" amid the tariff turbulence. Xi embarked this week on a Southeast Asia tour that has already taken him to Vietnam and will also include Cambodia, with Beijing trying to position itself as a stable alternative to President Donald Trump's punitive tariff regime.
6. U.S. Hits China With Export Restrictions On Chips Used For DeepSeek - RFA
Nvidia, a global leader in AI chip development, said it was notified by the U.S. government that exporting its H20 chips to China would now require government approval. It separately said that the restriction would remain in place indefinitely.
While the H20 chip has relatively modest computing power, it has other features that make it suitable for building high-performance computing systems. The U.S. government reportedly based its decision on concerns that the H20 chips could be used in or adapted for Chinese supercomputers.
7. China 1st Qtr GDP Grows 5.4%, Outlook Bearish Due To Trump Tariffs - Kyodo
China's economy in the January-March period grew a real 5.4 percent from a year earlier with the pace of expansion unchanged from the previous quarter, official data showed Wednesday, but the outlook remained bearish amid an intensifying tariff war with the United States.
Aided by stimulus measures, the increase in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product of the world's second-largest economy beat market expectations despite the trade tensions with Washington. The GDP figure in the first three months of 2025 was above the growth target of around 5 percent set for the whole year.
8. Hongkong Post Suspends Handling Of U.S.-Bound Packages Over Trump's Tariffs - UPI
Hong Kong's postal service announced it would suspend the handling of U.S.-bound packages due to President Donald Trump's tariff hikes targeting China.
The suspension of U.S.-bound packages by sea went into effect immediately on Wednesday, and U.S.-bound packages by air will be suspended on April 27, Hong Kong Post said in a statement. "The U.S. is unreasonable, bullying, and abusively imposing tariffs, " Hong Kong Post said.
9. Japanese Officials Said To Visit U.S. Today For Trade Talks - TIPP Insights
Japanese officials are scheduled to arrive in the U.S. on Wednesday for high-level talks focused on tariffs, trade policy, and the cost of U.S. military support.
The meeting, announced on the social media platform Truth Social by the U.S. President Donald Trump, will include U.S. Treasury and Commerce Secretaries alongside the President himself.
10. Iran Says Its Ready To Address U.S. Concerns, Not To Negotiate Enrichment - RFE/RL
Tehran is ready to ease U.S. concerns over its nuclear activities, but scrapping uranium enrichment is off the table, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said as the two sides prepare for a second round of talks this weekend.
Araqchi told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting in Tehran that Iran’s enrichment is a “real, accepted matter.” The second round of talks with the United States on April 19 would take place in the Italian capital, Rome, not in Oman, as previously thought.
11. EU Tightens Asylum Rules With List Of 7 Safe Countries - D.W.
The European Union has published a list of seven countries it considers "safe," as member states seek to speed up migrant returns. The list includes Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Tunisia.
The expanded list means EU member states will process applications from the countries deemed safe using an accelerated procedure because they have a low chance of success. Although the EU presented a similar list in 2015, the plan was abandoned due to heated debates over whether or not to include Turkey.
12. U.S. Lifts Sanctions Against Member Of Orban's Cabinet - RFE/RL
The United States lifted sanctions imposed in January on Antal Rogan, the head of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet, over accusations of corruption and cronyism.
Orban’s government, which had called the sanctions against Rogan a "personal revenge of the ambassador," hailed the announcement that sanctions had been lifted as a "clear sign that the winds have changed in Washington."
13. UK Supreme Court Rules Legal Definition Of A Woman Is Based On Biological Sex - BBC
Judges say the "concept of sex is binary," while cautioning that the landmark ruling should not be seen as a victory of one side over another.
Transgender people still have legal protection from discrimination, the court adds. The Scottish government had argued that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) are entitled to sex-based protections, while For Women Scotland argued they only apply to people who are born female.
14. Peru's Ex-President And First Lady Sentenced To 15 Years In Jail - BBC
A court in the capital, Lima, said Peru's former president, Ollanta Humala, had accepted illegal funds from the Venezuelan president at the time, Hugo Chávez, and from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to bankroll his election campaigns in 2006 and 2011.
His wife, Nadine Heredia, was also found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in jail. However, she has been granted safe passage to Brazil after seeking asylum in the Brazilian embassy.
15. Foreign Ministers Attend Conference In London To Try To Halt Sudan Civil War - UPI
An international summit to try to revive peace talks in war-torn Sudan opened on Tuesday, two years to the day since fighting erupted between forces of the military government and the Rapid Support Forces, a rival military faction.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he wanted to use the conference, co-hosted by the African Union, France and Germany and attended by 20 foreign ministers as well as major donors and multilateral bodies from around the world, to step up efforts to protect civilians and work toward ending a conflict responsible for one of the worst ever humanitarian crises.
16. WHO Countries Agree On Technology Transfers In Next Pandemic - D.W.
Member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) finalized a historic agreement to prepare the world for future pandemics following negotiations over three years.
The proposal will now be considered before the World Health Assembly — the decision-making forum of the global health body — in May. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the draft agreement "demonstrated that multilateralism is alive and well, and that in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats."
17. World Trade Organization Says Global Trade Could Slide This Year Because Of Trump's Tariff Policies - A.P.
The World Trade Organization says the volume of trade in goods worldwide is likely to decrease by 0.2% this year due to President Trump’s shifting tariff policies and a standoff with China, but it would take a more severe hit if Trump carries through on his toughest “reciprocal” tariffs.
The decline in trade will be particularly steep in North America even without the stiffest tariffs, the global trade forum said, with exports there this year expected to fall by 12.6% and imports by 9.6%.
18. Maryland Senator Lands Up In El Salvador To Meet Abrego Garcia - TIPP Insights
Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland travelled to El Salvador to seek answers regarding the Trump administration’s deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is now being held in the country’s infamous Cecot mega-prison.
Van Hollen announced his arrival on social media, expressing hopes of meeting with U.S. embassy staff, Salvadoran officials, and Abrego Garcia himself.
19. China Faces Regulatory Gap In Handling Seized Crypto Assets, Relies On Local Firms: Report - crypto.news
As China‘s pile of seized cryptocurrencies continues to grow — thanks to a steady stream of illegal transactions — local governments are quietly turning to private firms to convert tokens into cash, Reuters reports.
Chen Shi, a professor at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, told Reuters that such disposals a “makeshift solution that, strictly speaking, is not fully in line with China’s current ban on crypto trading,” suggesting that better oversight is needed as crypto crimes increase.
20. Blood Test To Predict Tumor Recurrence In Advanced Skin Cancer Called Highly Accurate - UPI Health
New York University researchers say a simple, gene-based blood test has shown to be highly accurate in predicting whether some stage III melanoma patients are likely to suffer recurrences of cancerous tumors.
The new test looks for a specific type of DNA shed by tumors of stage III melanoma patients who, if found, indicates a strong likelihood their cancer will return in the aftermath of lymph node surgery, according to the authors of a study published in The Lancet Oncology.
