Trump's treasury pick could give an indication of what he plans to do about tariffs

abcnews.go.com:

One of the top remaining vacancies in President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed Cabinet is his treasury secretary — and the views of his top contenders there reflect broader questions about how the president-elect might wield tariffs in his new administr...

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s decision on a treasury secretary is about far more than whose name will be printed on America’s money.

The choice of how to fill his highest-profile outstanding Cabinet selection will be the clearest indication yet of how he intends to wield import tariffs in his new administration.

The leading candidates for the role have expressed differing perspectives on how Trump should use the protectionist trade policies that he put front and center in his campaign for the White House, while Trump himself has offered seemingly contradictory views.

Billionaire investor Scott Bessent, considered a leading candidate, has talked up tariffs as a negotiating ploy. Another prominent contender, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, has expressed more support for broad tariffs. Lutnick is co-chair of Trump’s transition operation and is helping put forward candidates for key roles, including the Treasury Department.

Trump is also looking at other potential candidates as he decides who can best implement his economic agenda — and how big a role tariffs will play.

The president-elect, during this year’s campaign, portrayed the taxes on imports as both a negotiating tool to hammer out better trade terms and as a way to generate revenue to fund tax cuts elsewhere.

The Republican has proposed universal tariffs of as much as 20% and taxing Chinese imports at 60% or more, yet his campaign never filled in key details about how tariffs would be