“I concluded a very successful visit to the United States, following my trip to Dayton, with an exceptionally important and promising meeting in Washington with Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce in President Donald Trump’s administration,” stated Željka Cvijanović, the Serb member and Chairwoman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We agreed that economic prosperity creates political stability. During the meeting, we reached an agreement to work together in the coming weeks on the mutual regulation of customs tariffs,” Cvijanović wrote on her Instagram profile.
She added that she had expressed full support for the foreign policy priorities of the new U.S. administration led by President Trump, which are focused on investment, the development of economic relations, and business cooperation.
“This marks a positive shift and opens entirely new opportunities in our future relations. I look forward to continuing our cooperation and further concretizing the topics we discussed,” Cvijanović stated.
Who is Howard Lutnick?
Howard Lutnick effectively serves as Secretary of Commerce in Trump’s administration, overseeing trade, and was previously a candidate for Secretary of the Treasury. His department employs around 50,000 people and came into public focus for its support of Trump’s broad tariff policies. Lutnick’s office plays a key role in areas where business interests and national security intersect, such as restricting technology exports or introducing tariffs to protect American industry.
The department is also heavily involved in government efforts to boost domestic production and support American companies.
Originally from Long Island, Lutnick is the CEO of the financial company Cantor Fitzgerald, which he joined in 1983 immediately after graduating from Haverford College. Within ten years, he rose to the position of Chief Investment Officer.
He brought in additional clients, increased profitability, and led one of Cantor Fitzgerald’s most profitable divisions.
He narrowly escaped death in the 9/11 attacks because he took one of his children to daycare that morning. However, Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees, including Lutnick’s brother Gary. For a month, he attended every employee’s funeral, which further shaped his public image.
Decades later, he declared that September 11 was the defining moment of his life and that every day still feels like “it happened yesterday.” He founded a foundation to help the victims’ families and donated about $180 million. He has also provided aid to victims of natural disasters and is the largest individual donor to Haverford College, with a unique donation of $25 million — totaling $65 million overall.
His influence in the company is best reflected in an attempt by Cantor Fitzgerald’s founder to remove him from his executive role, which was rejected — after which Lutnick became both CEO and president of the firm.
Today, the company is known for its investments in cryptocurrencies and its real estate arm, the brokerage firm Newmark. Lutnick is also known for advocating technological investments and for launching the electronic trading platform eSpeed.
As one of Donald Trump’s closest associates, he actively participated in fundraising for Trump’s campaign in both election cycles. Although formerly a Democrat, after Trump’s 2016 victory he became a Republican and went on to raise millions of dollars for the Republican candidate, including a personal donation of $2.5 million to Trump’s Victory Fund and $5 million to MAGA Inc.
Following the presidential elections, Lutnick was a candidate for Secretary of the Treasury and received strong support from Elon Musk, though he seemed uninterested in the position. Soon after, Trump appointed him Secretary of Commerce, effectively making him the economy minister. His appointment was confirmed by the Senate on February 18.
He is a direct participant in trade negotiations with China, Canada, and Mexico and a staunch advocate of Trump’s tariffs.
This year, Time magazine included him on the list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Source: RTRS
