Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn resigns from White House in wake of controversy over tariffs

Top aide's support of free trade clashed with Donald Trump's decision to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminium

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Gary Cohn during a Republican retreat earlier this year (AFP)

Donald Trump’s top economic adviser plans to resign as the White House contends with a broad backlash to its announcement of steep tariffs on aluminium and steel.

“It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform”, National Economic Council director Gary Cohn said in a statement issued by the White House. “I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future”.

In a separate statement, Mr Trump said Mr Cohn “did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again”.

The imminent departure of Mr Cohn comes days after Mr Trump announced the new tariffs, prompting fears of igniting a trade war as other countries have threatened retaliatory measures. Mr Cohen reportedly sought to dissuade the President.

Pushback to the new levies has come from economists who argue the measures will hurt American consumers and from members of Mr Trump's own party, with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and other conservatives publicly assailing the proposal.

A registered Democrat and a free trade advocate, Mr Cohn made for a somewhat incongruous fit serving in a Republican White House under a President who favours economic protectionism and regularly bemoans international trade pacts as giving America a bad deal. In a factionalised White House, farther-right staffers were said to derisively refer Mr Cohn and his allies as “the Democrats”.

He has broken with the President before, most notably when he added his voice to a chorus publicly criticising Mr Trump for equating neo-Nazis with counter-protesters. Mr Cohn said at the time he was facing “enormous pressure” to resign.

While Mr Trump closed out his presidential campaign with a campaign blasted the power of “a handful of large corporations” and displayed an image of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Mr Trump showed no qualms about elevating a Goldman Sachs alumnus in appointing Mr Cohn, the finance titan’s former president.

Mr Cohn's departure adds to the cascade of top staffers who have left the Trump administration, coming just days after communications chief Hope Hicks said she was leaving.