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AkhenOsiris
NYT:

But the details of the plan and its goals remained foggy. In the run-up to the tariff announcement last week, Mr. Trump’s economic team debated until the last minute about what form the tariffs should take, with Mr. Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick both privately arguing for more limited tariffs, according to two people familiar with the plans.

Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser, was the most aggressive of Mr. Trump’s advisers, insisting on a tariff strategy that he claimed would create a revolution in American manufacturing. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative came up with its own formula for calculating tariff rates for other countries, based on their tariff rates plus an estimate of other trade barriers. But the president ultimately decided to go with a formula based on the trade deficit, two people familiar with the conversations said.

When the tariffs finally went into effect last Wednesday, the markets tanked.

By Sunday, Mr. Bessent decided that he needed a private audience with the president. In less than 24 hours, the markets would reopen and investors were predicting a “Black Monday.”

Mr. Bessent rode with Mr. Trump back to Washington on Air Force One. During the flight, Mr. Bessent advised the president to focus on negotiating with other countries, saying Mr. Trump is the most deft negotiator there is, four people briefed on the discussion said. But he also stressed that Mr. Trump needed to articulate the endgame of his plan because the markets needed more certainty.

Mr. Trump pushed back, the people said, emphasizing the pain was “short term,” one of the people said. But Mr. Bessent said that could mean many months in market terms.
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