Trade war: Trump faces last-ditch push by aides, allies to thwart tariffs

US President Donald Trump is facing a last-ditch effort from within his own administration and Republican lawmakers to head off steep tariffs on steel and aluminium that threaten to unleash a global trade war.

White House economic advisor Gary Cohn is summoning executives from US companies that depend on the metals to meet this week with Trump to try to persuade him to blunt or halt the tariffs announced last week, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Republicans in Congress are mounting an unusual public campaign to thwart the tariffs, with House Speaker Paul Ryan’s spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, releasing a statement urging the President to halt the plan, a rare public break between the two GOP leaders.

Trump on Monday stood by his call for a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminium, saying “we’re not backing down.” Yet if he doesn’t retreat, Cohn may quit the administration and some in Congress could try to limit the president’s authority to impose trade penalties.