Dealmaking in chaos as top Trump aides battle in 'loyalty contest': diplomats

Donald Trump's trade war has taken a backseat as the president has put the U.S. on the brink of a real war with his attack on Iran — and that is probably a good thing for him, reports Politico.

On Sunday, Politico reported that nothing is happening on the tariff front because the negotiations have been mired in confusion over who speaks for the president, with three key advisors working independently of each other.

At issue are ongoing negations that can, at times, include Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer who are reportedly "working at cross purposes." Politico reported it has baffled America's trading partners.

According to the report, insiders are complaining that negotiations are being hampered as the three compete with each other for Trump's approval.

In an interview, an Asian diplomat complained, "We have been shuffled around, there is no doubt about that. There is not a singular voice on this or most things from what’s been observed.”

That was borne out by Inu Manak of the Council on Foreign Relations, who observed, "From what I hear from foreign delegations, this does not seem to be working at all and is why there aren’t a bunch of deals being concluded. It sounds like Commerce, Treasury and USTR are negotiating different things without keeping each other in the loop.”

According to an insider, "The three of them had slightly different opinions in the negotiations and it was a bit confusing,” adding, "I think it’s a loyalty contest, where they’re all trying to give Trump more of what he wants."

The Politico report notes that negotiators from Japan are particularly frustrated.

“Why does the trio of Bessent, Greer and Lutnick need to come out for one minister? It’s unclear who [of them] talks to Trump,” one participant lamented.

According to Derek Scissors, an expert on China at the American Enterprise Institute, "I don’t believe in the capacity of either Secretary Bessent or Secretary Lutnick to write an agreement with China of any specificity. Jamieson can if he’s allowed to, but he’s the least politically important of the three."

He added, “Bessent has no China background. And Lutnick, well, I’ll just let that dot fade into the distance in terms of his abilities.”

You can read more here.