Washington. Howard Latnick, the newly minted US Secretary of Commerce, has quickly entered the epicentre of the economic battles fuelled by President Donald Trump. This former Wall Street banker, whose name was thundered after the 9/11 tragedy, does not just support tariffs – he has made them his battle cry. China, Russia, and now old allies Canada and Europe have all felt his hard economic fist.
The Economic Times calls him an “apologist for tariffs” who sees them not just as a weapon, but as a symbol of “reciprocity, fairness and respect”. At a Senate hearing, Latnick asserted with cold-blooded certainty that tariffs do not spur inflation. Economists furrow their brows, but he stands his ground like a general on the battlefield.
From the ashes of 9/11 to the pinnacle of power
Latnik is not just about numbers and strategies. His story is a drama worthy of a Hollywood screenplay. In 2001, as chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald, he miraculously escaped death in the Twin Towers by taking his son to school. That tragedy claimed two-thirds of his company – 658 lives. At first, he was accused of callousness: payments to the families of the victims were stopped. But later Latnick turned the story around, paying out $180 million over five years, proving that he could keep his word.
Wall Street, crypto and Greenland
At 63, Latnick is a financial titan with a $2.2 billion fortune and an appetite for ambitious projects. He has a stake in Greenland’s minerals through Critical Metals, but his real passion is for cryptocurrencies. For him, Bitcoin and Tether are not just assets, but a revolution. At a conference in March, he issued a challenge: “Bitcoin should be worth as much as gold, and no shackles.” This rhetoric rhymes perfectly with the views of Elon Musk, who is said to have seen Latnick not only as a trade secretary but also as a finance minister.
Votes for and against
James Cartwright, an economic guru from the Brookings Institution, is cautious about Latnik: “His aggressiveness is systemic. In the short term, America may win, but trade wars are playing with fire.” Christine Lagarde of the ECB is sounding the alarm: “Protectionism is a knife in the back of the global economy.” And Senator Elizabeth Warren does not mince words at all: “The patch is a gift to corporations and a slap in the face to small businesses.”
Scandals as a way of life
Latnik is a magnet for controversy. On the All-In podcast, he called critics of the government over delays in social security payments “frauds”, which angered many. The Daily Beast added to the pepper by reminding us that his 94-year-old mother-in-law lives in a luxury mansion in Manhattan, far from the worries of welfare. He also urges people to buy Tesla shares, despite their fall. “How can you underestimate a genius like Musk?” he said on Fox News, as if challenging the market.
The verdict of time
Howard Latnick is a cocktail of pragmatism, toughness and charisma. For some, he is an economic messiah, for others, the embodiment of capitalism without brakes. Will his strategy be a triumph for America, or will it lead the world into a deadlock of trade conflicts? Only time will tell.
Author: Aleksandr Potetiuiev
