White House Photo: VCG

Elon Musk,MKS sports a key adviser and political donor, has made direct appeals to US President Donald Trump to reverse sweeping new tariffs, the Washington Post reported, as some Wall Street billionaires and other Republicans voiced concern and opposition to the tariffs over the past few days.  

These emerging voices lay bare the US' internal divisions over the new tariffs and represent a mounting sense of insecurity and instability as globalization, which fueled US prosperity and global economy for decades, is in danger of being damaged due to the latest US move, some Chinese observers said on Tuesday.   

Musk's attempted intervention, confirmed by two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks, has not brought success, the Washington Post reported. Washington Post report described this is the highest-profile disagreement between the president and one of his key advisers. 

On Monday, Musk posted a video to X in which the late conservative economist Milton Friedman promoted the benefits of international trade cooperation with the example of a simple wooden pencil, per the Washington Post.

Trump administration so far showed no sign to change its tariff stance. 

Politico reported on Monday that the Trump administration is threatening to veto a bipartisan Senate bill to give Congress the ability to review new tariffs, protecting US President's claim of unfettered power in the early stages of a trade war that is sinking financial markets. 

A handful of Senate Republicans have signed onto a bipartisan bill that would allow Congress to end any tariff at any time. "If passed, this bill would dangerously hamper the president's authority and duty to determine our foreign policy and protect our national security," per a White House statement.   

Multiple Republicans including Texas Senator Ted Cruz have spoken out about the risks of US' tariff policy.

If the tariffs stay in place long term it could increase inflation, hurt job growth and possibly put the US into a recession, which Cruz said would result in a "bloodbath" for the Republican Party in the 2026 midterm elections, ABC News reported.

Cruz also said that Musk was one of the "angels" based on recent comments the tech billionaire made about his hope for lower tariffs and "complete freedom of trade between the US and Europe."

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote on X last week that "Tariffs are taxes and Americans are paying the price." He also spoke on the Senate floor criticizing the tariffs, "One person can make a mistake and guess what - tariffs are a terrible mistake," Paul said, ABC News reported.

Former vice president Mike Pence, who served alongside Trump during his first term, warned about the economic and political risks of the sweeping "reciprocal tariffs," calling them the "largest peacetime tax hike in US history."

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times the emerging different voices on the US' "tariff war" is a manifestation of the conflicts and divisions of different interest groups inside the US. 

Supporters of protectionist tariffs are people representing traditional industries in the US, but they fail to realize that the US' real economic advantage lies in its technology and financial sectors, the expert said.

Influential Wall Street voices raised concerns. JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon warned about the effect of tariffs on growth and prices, and said that it will "weaken America's standing in the world," while BlackRock's Larry Fink said CEOs he talks to say we are probably in a recession now, per media reports. 

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump's 2024 presidential bid, warned on Sunday that going ahead with the new tariffs was tantamount to launching an "economic nuclear war," CNN reported on Monday. 

Wang Huiyao, founder and president of nongovernmental think tank the Center for China and Globalization, said the market performance demonstrates damage to investor confidence, which relies heavily on certainty and stability. 

The US argument to impose tariffs to rebalance its trade in goods has lost sight of the big picture that the US' comparative advantage lies in fields such as trade in services and the global dollar system, Wang told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The US policies have already triggered turmoil and harmed economic globalization. At this moment, it is important for other countries to join hands to withstand the US' detrimental move. China, by consistently upholding opening-up, is playing the invaluable role of reassuring and stabilizing the world, Wang said.