The power reshuffle of the White House tariff team has sidelined the hawkish commerce secretary and trade adviser

On April 11, according to Politico, people close to the White House said that US Treasury Secretary Vincent Bescent now has the overall control of trade. At the same time, Navarro, a trade adviser and populist, has been sidelined, while Lutnik, the Wall Street "punching bag" commerce secretary, has been reconsidered as "bad cop" (a tough, tough role). This reflects the turmoil this week around Trump's trade policy and the shift towards the "fair trade" that Bescent has been advocating. A person close to Trump and Navarro said the trade hawk can still influence the president. Trump respects Navarro's radical populist ideas, but that doesn't mean he is at the center. Another person said the White House believed it could use Mr. Lutnik's difficult personality to play a role in the negotiations. The role change comes amid a tug-of-war between the fair trade camp and the protectionist camp within the White House. "Trump likes to create chaos, then calm down, then create chaos, then restore calm, just to be unpredictable," said a former Trump administration official. This state of affairs also exists in Trump's inner circle, where forces are constantly moving in and out of the sphere of influence. While the internal struggles that were common in Trump's first term largely disappeared in his second term, the shift in the status of the tariff policy leadership is a reminder that the battle for power and influence is not over.