Trump’s economic adviser quits

washington — Gary Cohn, the top economic adviser to US President Donald Trump, said on Tuesday he would resign, a move that came after he lost a fight over Trump’s plans for steel and aluminum import tariffs.

The departure of Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, was expected to be finalised in a few weeks and will blow a hole in Trump’s already depleted advisory team.

Trump said in a tweet on Tuesday night that he “will be making a decision soon” on replacing Cohn. Administration officials said Peter Navarro, director of the White House National Trade Council, and conservative commentator Larry Kudlow were the “top two candidates” for the job.

White House officials said the tariffs dispute contributed to Cohn’s decision to leave but that it was not the sole reason. One official cited several issues and noted: “His biggest mission was on the tax cut bill, which he got passed.”

US stocks fall

Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday as the departure of a key economic advisor to President Donald Trump sharpened worries about a trade war.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 24,615.17, down 1.1 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.7 per cent to 2,707.87, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.6 per cent to 7,324.58. — Reuters and AFP