During his year and a bit as Trump's chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn tried many different tactics to persuade the president why some of his most hardwired instincts on trade were, in Cohn's view, misguided.
What we're hearing: In one memorable Oval Office meeting, Cohn told a fictional story about Trump's Scottish golf course to explain why Trump shouldn't try to remove a key protection in international trade deals, according to three sources familiar with the meeting.
This leaked WTO bill is part of a much larger story, Trump's war on multilateral, global institutions and agreements. Some of these, like the World Trade Organization, form the core of the post-World War Two international order.
The big picture: Trump has expressed skepticism, and in some cases outright hostility towards NATO, the European Union, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the Group of Seven (G7). He's already withdrawn the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran deal, announced his intent to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, and has seriously contemplated terminating NAFTA.
Axios has obtained a leaked draft of a Trump administration bill — ordered by the president himself — that would declare America’s abandonment of fundamental World Trade Organization rules.
Why it matters: The draft legislation is stunning. The bill essentially provides Trump a license to raise U.S. tariffs at will, without congressional consent and international rules be damned.
Home Depot plans to invest $1.2 billion over the next five years to increase its supply chain and distribution abilities in an effort to keep disruptors like Amazon out of its home improvement market, reports the Wall Street Journal's Jennifer Smith.
The big picture: Despite being the number one home improvement retailer, Home Depot recognizes the power of e-commerce giants like Amazon that have a hand in nearly every market. So far, the company's plan to dominate the home improvement market and keep competitors at bay has been working.
The details: U.S. steel and iron will face a 25% tariff — equal to the Trump's administration's steel tariff. Other consumer goods, including foodstuffs like ketchup and pizza, have a 10% tariff. In a speech, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his citizens to "make their choices accordingly" when considering American-made products.
Banks, financial institutions and retail stores are all pushing back against the gun industry by taking steps to slow the sale of firearms and blocking the industry's financial options in response to the United States' continued problems with mass shootings.
The big picture: Second Amendment advocates fear that Corporate America's pushback against the gun industry could be a backdoor way — without legislation or a constitutional amendment — to roll back Americans' gun rights.
President Trump slammed American allies in Europe on trade, telling Fox News' Maria Bartiromo during an exclusive interview on Sunday morning, "The European Union is possibly as bad as China, just smaller. It's terrible what they do to us."
Why it matters: It's conventional wisdom among economists that the U.S. needs allies' support to take on a powerful — and growing — China.
Ministers representing 16 Asian-Pacific countries — including China, India, Australia and Japan — that make up a third of the global economy and half of the world's population met in Tokyo Sunday to discuss forming the world's largest trading bloc, reports Bloomberg.
Why it matters: These discussions come as President Trump is alienating allies and adversaries alike with tariffs and threats of an all-out global trade war. Trump's moves have also fostered an unlikely friendship between Asian giants China and Japan as the two hedge against uncertain U.S. foreign policy.
For some government officials, wrapping up a career in politics can lead to another public-facing position: cable news media.
The big picture: Several politicos have moved — or are trying to move — into the media arena. Outgoing Senate Republican Jeff Flake is reportedly looking for a cable news home, and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer is in the market for a talk show.
