The White House calls it “the most ambitious economic realignment” in decades but markets are in turmoil.

The White House called this week’s tariff announcement the “most ambitious economic realignment the American people have ever seen.” It is hard to disagree. To help our community make sense of it all, No Labels is hosting a special call next Tuesday, April 8, at 5:00 PM ET with Orchard Global CEO Paul Horvath, an exceptional leader with decades of experience navigating the intersection of financial markets and politics. You can sign up here.

In the wake of President Trump announcing a 10% global baseline tariff, plus reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries, financial markets are reeling, and many are fearing skyrocketing inflation or even a global recession.

Much of the uncertainty has come from the White House’s failure to properly explain its rationale – but a recent interview with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick offered a window into their thinking.

Lutnick explained that America had a longstanding policy of “low tariffs here, high tariffs there” in prior generations, but it changed after World War II when we lowered our tariffs while other countries raised theirs. You can see a timeline of this history here.

According to Lutnick, the United States is being taken advantage of, with countries like India having tariff rates of 50% while the U.S. has rates of 4%. “There is no country in this world that is free trade,” he argued. “Everybody else is higher and more protective.”

The administration believes raising tariffs will bring back jobs and lead to an American manufacturing renaissance, while also raising as much as $700 billion in annual revenues that can be used to balance our budget.

Lutnick provides a good summary of the administration’s position, but even some in President Trump’s own party are skeptical that the tariffs will have their desired effect. You can read more about the case for and against tariffs in our post here.

Yesterday, four Republican Senators – Sens. Rand Paul (KY), Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Mitch McConnell (KY) – joined Democrats in voting for a resolution to undo the 25% tariffs on Canadian imports.

The resolution does not have the force of law, which raises an interesting issue that we explained earlier this week: Congress forfeited its control over tariffs to the executive long ago, leaving it largely powerless in the current debate.

So what can leaders do who want to engage productively? They can start by presenting alternative ideas to accomplish the two primary goals of President Trump’s trade policy: to reshore American jobs and raise revenues to reduce the deficits and debt.

You cannot fight something with nothing. We need more leaders to offer alternatives that would achieve these aims. Otherwise, the president’s ideas are the only game in town.

The tariff debate is complicated and deeply disruptive – like almost everything in this current moment. It is why you will not want to miss our call on Tuesday, April 8, at 5:00 PM ET with Orchard Global CEO Paul Horvath, an exceptional leader with decades of experience navigating the intersection of financial markets and politics. He will explain how and why the White House is making so many risky and ambitious moves to reshape government, the economy, and the global security environment. Sign up here for the call.