#TrumpTariffs

Trump Aides Urge Court to Spare Tariffs as They Dismiss Worries in Public

There are dueling narratives as the administration seeks to preserve a set of tariffs recently deemed to be illegal.

Though top aides have insisted publicly that trade negotiations remain unharmed, some of those same officials have pleaded with a court to spare President Trump from reputational damage on the global stage.Credit...

Shortly after a federal trade court declared many of President Trump’s tariffs to be illegal, Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, took to television to brush aside the setback.

“It cost us a week, maybe,” Mr. Lutnick said this month on Fox News, noting that other countries remained eager to strike new deals despite tariffs being in legal jeopardy.

“Everybody came right back to the table,” he added.

With the fate of the president’s tariffs hanging in the balance, the Trump administration has tried to project dueling narratives on trade. Top aides have insisted publicly that their negotiations remain unharmed, even as some of those same officials have pleaded with the court to spare Mr. Trump from reputational damage on the global stage.

Their strategy faced two crucial tests on Monday.

Mr. Lutnick and other top advisers huddled with their Chinese counterparts in London in the hopes of hammering out a new trade truce. Hours later, lawyers for the Trump administration urged a federal appeals court to allow the president’s tariffs to remain in place as a fight over their legality continues.