US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has become the chief defender of Trump's tariffs. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via GettyFew figures illustrate the US’s switch from globalisation champion to globalisation sceptic better than Howard Lutnick. In 2016 he reportedly called then candidate Donald Trump a “buffoon” and hosted a fundraiser for Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton. His pushy overconfidence rubbed many up the wrong way at last week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, something he would probably take as a compliment. On tariffs, Lutnick said: “Contrary to the warnings of establishment politicians, these policies haven’t hurt the world, they’ve helped it.

Source: The Irish Times January 30, 2026 18:01 UTC