The White House signaled it will press forward with tariffs despite voter backlash over inflation, drawing sharp disagreement from within Trump's own economic circle.

Jim Goyer, Trump's director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, defended tariffs as essential to rebuilding U.S. manufacturing and securing supply chains during a speech Tuesday at the B20 summit in Washington. "We are just getting started," Goyer said. "Our ambition is to continue this pace for the remainder of the president's term in office."

Gary Cohn, who served as Trump's chief economic advisor during his first administration, offered a starkly different view during the same event. "Tariffs are a consumption tax on the U.S. consumer," Cohn said, arguing the duties are raising prices and forcing Americans to reconsider purchases. Cohn, now vice chairman of IBM, acknowledged that tariffs generate revenue for the U.S. but argued the gains come "at consumers' expense."

Roughly two-thirds of voters said Trump's policies contributed to inflation in the Nov. 3 election, according to the CNBC Voter Poll. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday found 62% of Americans supported repealing Trump's tariffs, while just 21% approved of his handling of the cost of living.

New government data showed consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, exceeding economists' expectations. Annual inflation reached 3.7% in September, well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

A Federal Reserve Bank of New York study estimated that roughly 26% of tariff increases were passed through to consumer prices, with some effects taking nine to 12 months to materialize through supply chains.

Cohn suggested Trump and the incoming Democratic Congress could make protections against China permanent while rolling back tariffs on Canada, leaving less for future presidents to undo. Democrats plan to challenge Trump's tariffs when they take control of Congress in January, though his veto power and broad trade authority could make them difficult to overturn.

UPS CEO Carol Tomé said customers are moving production and sourcing closer to home as global supply chains become more regional. Jim Fitterling, executive chairman of Dow, defended Trump's tariffs despite their costs, arguing they are necessary to combat unfair competition and protect U.S. manufacturing.