White House Chief Economic Advisor Quits As Trump Stays The Course on Tariffs

Gary Cohn, the top White House economic adviser who headed the National Economic Council, has quit the Trump administration.

Cohn was reported to be bitterly opposed to Us President Donald Trump's decision to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. In a moved that has come under heavy criticism from US's allies, Trump had announced his intention to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminium.

While Cohen along with treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin are believed to be vehemently opposed to the tariff move, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro  and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross are seen as backing the protectionist measure.

Earlier this week, Navarro defended President Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on imported aluminium and steel, arguing that related cost increases are secondary to Trump’s “mission” to preserve those American industries.

“The last time I checked, we had an $18 trillion economy. It’s second-order small,” Navarro told Fox News about how the tariffs are projected to add billions to the cost of the metals, key materials to the US building and manufacturing industries.

“The downstream effects of steel and aluminium tariffs are insignificant, and the mission here is to preserve our steel and aluminium industries for national security and economic security,” he had said.

In a prepared statement announcing his departure, Cohn said, "It has been an honour to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular, the passage of historic tax reform."

"I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future," he added.

Trump also praised his advisor "Gary has been my chief economic advisor and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again,” Trump said.

"He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people," the US President added.

Cohn is the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the Trump administration.