Peter Navarro says U.S. ‘has no defense other than tariffs’: Full interview

Summary

Peter Navarro, the White House trade advisor, discussed the U.S. reliance on tariffs as a defensive strategy on 'Meet the Press'. The interview delves into President Trump's recent tariff adjustments and trade strategy, emphasizing that non-tariff barriers pose greater challenges than tariffs alone. Navarro defends the 'American First' trade policy and argues that ongoing negotiations with multiple countries aim to rectify economic imbalances. Despite accusations of sidestepping and criticism from figures like Elon Musk, Navarro maintains the administration's stance on using tariffs to counter unfair trade practices and addresses economic concerns like inflation and recession.

Highlights

• Peter Navarro emphasizes tariffs as the main U.S. defense strategy against unfair trade. 🛡️
• The Trump administration paused tariffs temporarily to negotiate better deals. 🤝
• Negotiations are underway with several countries including the UK, EU, and Japan. 🌐
• Despite appearing chaotic, Navarro insists that the administration has a clear trade strategy. 🗺️
• There's a focus on combating non-tariff barriers, which are more challenging than direct tariffs. 🚧
• Navarro addresses economic concerns, pointing to recent positive inflation data. 📉
• He highlights the role of tariffs in funding proposed tax cuts and economic growth. 📊
• Navarro dismisses being sidelined and defends his presence and role in discussions. 🔄

Key Takeaways

• Tariffs are the primary defense against global economic imbalances, according to Navarro. 📈
• The Trump administration is engaging in numerous trade negotiations with countries worldwide. 🤝
• Navarro disputes claims of disarray in trade policy and emphasizes a structured approach. 📊
• Inflation and recession concerns are countered with optimistic economic indicators. 📉
• Navarro downplays any personal feud with Elon Musk and focuses on policy strategies. 🚗

Overview

In an engaging interview on 'Meet the Press', Peter Navarro, the White House trade advisor, tackled the complexities of U.S. trade policies under President Trump. Navarro focused on tariffs as the primary tool to combat what he views as unfair global trade practices. The conversation highlighted the challenges posed by non-tariff barriers, which Navarro argued are significant hurdles for the U.S. economy.

Navarro explained that the temporary pause on tariffs is a strategic move to foster negotiations, citing ongoing talks with numerous countries aiming to rectify trade imbalances. Despite criticisms about the administration's approach, Navarro maintained that there's an underlying logic to the policies, reflected in the 'America First' strategy that prioritizes national interests in trade.

The discussion also touched on economic indicators, with Navarro optimistic about recent inflation data and the potential economic impact of tariff revenue-funded tax cuts. Addressing personal feuds, such as with Elon Musk, Navarro emphasized the focus remains on policy rather than personalities, underscoring the administration's commitment to navigating complex trade landscapes.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction and Tariff Discussion The chapter features an interview with White House trade advisor Peter Navarro on Meet the Press. The discussion begins with a light-hearted comment about the venue's plush appearance. The focus is on President Trump's recent decision to pause and adjust tariff rates, lowering them to 10% for most countries. The White House also introduced new tariff exclusions for smartphones and other products. The conversation hints at forthcoming topics, including a discussion involving Elon Musk.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Non-tariff Barriers and US Strategy The chapter titled 'Non-tariff Barriers and US Strategy' discusses the unpredictability in the president's trade policies and its impact on consumers and businesses, especially in the electronics sector. Mr. Navaro addresses the issue, suggesting that the current scenario aligns with their expectations in dealing with trade strategies. He highlights the longstanding issue of unfair trade practices against the US, including the imposition of higher tariffs by other countries.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Potential Trade Deals and Policy Clarifications The chapter discusses various non-tariff barriers that foreign countries use to gain trade advantages over the United States. These include fat taxes, dumping, currency manipulation, and technical barriers that hinder American exports, such as automobiles to Japan and pork to Australia or Europe. These practices are causing a significant annual wealth transfer overseas, amounting to $1.2 trillion per year, and a cumulative $18 trillion since the country started running trade deficits.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Economic Outlook and Tax Cuts This chapter discusses the economic strategy of matching tariffs with those imposed by other countries, acknowledging the challenge of non-tariff barriers being higher. The intent is to encourage other countries to negotiate deals, anticipating approximately 90 potential agreements in a short span.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Stock Market and Trade Negotiations President Trump's decision to pause trade negotiations for 90 days is discussed, with the administration claiming it will benefit the American people. However, there is conflicting information regarding the consistency and strategy of the White House’s trade negotiations, especially concerning exclusions to previously stated guidelines. Uncertainty surrounds whether there is a coherent strategy or if the president is making ad hoc decisions.
• 05:00 - 06:00: US-China Relations and Fentanyl Crisis The chapter discusses the US-China relations focusing on the fentanyl crisis. It emphasizes the policy of no exemptions or exclusions aimed to ensure fairness for the American people, particularly in dealing with the crisis involving fentanyl and its impact at the border. This policy is framed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The narrative highlights the crisis at the border where fentanyl continues to be a serious problem, contributing to deaths.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Closing Remarks on Elon Musk and Tariffs The chapter titled 'Closing Remarks on Elon Musk and Tariffs' highlights two major issues. Firstly, the increasing deaths from fentanyl in America are underscored, emphasizing the need for urgent attention to this crisis. Secondly, the chapter discusses the trade deficit and focuses on Section 232, which is related to the import of key strategic sectors such as steel, aluminum, chips, and pharmaceuticals. These imports are seen as a crucial issue affecting American industries.

Peter Navarro says U.S. ‘has no defense other than tariffs’: Full interview Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 And joining me now is White House trade advisor Peter Navaro. Mr. Navaro, welcome back to Meet the Press. Great to be with you. The digs here are pretty plush. Well, we'll get to lot of history there. Yeah, we'll get to your back and forth uh with Elon Musk in just a bit, but I want to start off on the policy. The important thing here, President Trump, as we just laid out, did hit the pause button on his tariffs. He lowered them to 10% for most countries. And just yesterday, the White House announced new exclusions for smartphones and other
• 00:30 - 01:00 electronics. Mr. Navaro, how can consumers and businesses make decisions when it seems as though the president's trade policies are shifting at a moment's notice? So, this is unfolding exactly like we thought it would in a dominant scenario. What's going on here is we start with the observation. I don't think you would disagree with me at all. The world cheats us. They've been cheating us for decades. They cheat us with tariffs, higher tariffs, but
• 01:00 - 01:30 more importantly, they cheat us with the so-called non-tariff barriers. It's the fat taxes, the dumping, the currency manipulation, the technical barriers that keep our autos out of Japan, the agricultural barriers that keep our pork out of Australia or Europe. They're doing that to the tune of $1.2 2 trillion dollars of wealth a year that we transfer now abroad and $18 trillion of wealth since we started running deficits. You know how much $18 trillion of America that could buy? So that's
• 01:30 - 02:00 that's the problem we're grappling with. So we we we have a a strategy here where the president says we're going to charge them what they charge us. And the analytical issue is it's easy to to calculate the tariff differential, but the non-tariff barriers are so much higher. So that's what we set knowing full well knowing full well that a lot of countries would come right to us and want to bargain. We've got 90 deals in 90 days possibly pending here. And it
• 02:00 - 02:30 was par for the course. actually was a birdie for President Trump to do exactly what he did, which was pause for 90 days. And we're going to get this done for the American people. I want to talk about the the status of those potential pending deals. But first, look, you're talking about the fact that the White House has a strategy. The commerce secretary, the Treasury Secretary, the president himself said there would not be exclusions and yet just yesterday there were exclusions. So, is there in fact a plan or is the president making
• 02:30 - 03:00 this up as he goes along? So the policy is no exemptions, no exclusions. The policy is in effect. No, there were not exclusions. Let me let me explain. Okay. What what I Well, this is really good for the American people to understand. There's like different ways to go about getting fairness for the American people. We started with the fentanyl border tariffs. That's an AEPA, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. And and we we had a crisis at the border. We continue to see people die by
• 03:00 - 03:30 the time this show's over. another couple of Americans will be dead from fentanyl in just this short period of time. We did that. So, u the AIPA is also used for the trade deficit. But there's also a really important thing, Kristen, and this deals with the chips issue you're talking about. That's what we call the section 232 issue, which is when we have a flood of imports being dumped into certain key strategic sectors, steel, aluminum, chips, pharmaceuticals, as we learned during
• 03:30 - 04:00 COVID, we have to take specific action. So, what we're doing with chips, the problem, interestingly, for chips, because it's very complex stuff, is that we don't buy a lot of chips like in bags. We buy them in products. So what secretary of commerce Howard Lutnik is going to do uh is doing it as we speak is an investigation of the chip supply chain. The goal is stability and resilience and you will see uh actions taken based on those investigations on copper. We've already have steel and
• 04:00 - 04:30 aluminum. We already have autos. There will be pharmaceuticals and there will be chips. And the important thing is there's three kinds. There's the high-end chips, which is the AI future. Okay, we've got to get control of that. And then there's everything else that fuels our autos and and and on down. Fair enough. I hear what you're saying on investigation, but there is currently an exclusion for some of those products. An excl. You want to call it exclusion potatoes. The White House called it an
• 04:30 - 05:00 exclus. Well, but let's say let let's just here's I think another thing that's really important. When people talk about the chaos or lack of strength, whatever, you just go back to day one. I was there when the president signed it. It was the second to last order he signed. It was in the oval that night. Yeah. And it was the American first trade policy which laid out every single thing we're doing. And it would be remiss for anybody in in the media not to review that carefully and see that there's there's rhyme to
• 05:00 - 05:30 our reason and rhythm to what we're doing. Yeah. And but now the administration is actually on its website saying that they're offering refunds for some of these products. But let me you let's talk about day one. Okay. Because on the campaign trail, President Trump promised to bring down prices on day one. Now he's telling Americans there's going to be a transition cost. I don't have to tell you this. People are worried about everything from their retirement savings to the prices they're going to pay at the grocery store, whether uh shelves will be stocked. Um I think the big
• 05:30 - 06:00 question is how long will Americans have to wait? How long will this transition of uncertainty last? Let's talk about both recession and inflation because there was some really big news this last week and I'm going to answer your question. Trust me on that. So, we had really good news on the inflation front. Both the producer price index, which is wholesale prices, consumer price index had the lowest print since uh fall of 2023. Really good news. And nobody
• 06:00 - 06:30 expected that. And the reason why that kind of thing's happening is because the Trump policies on other fronts, oil's down to $61 a barrel. Okay. So, but the other thing, and this is like should have been in in that little package you had at the beginning, the Congress passed the resolution, the budget resolution, which lays the groundwork for having the biggest, broadest tax cut in American history before August. Now, what does that mean? What does it mean for both recession and inflation? It
• 06:30 - 07:00 means that we're going to have a a a debtneutral tax cut financed by tariff revenues that's going to stimulate growth. It could be worth as much of a point and a half in terms of GDP growth. At the same time, it's deflationary, not inflationary. It's unlike the Biden fiscal measures which were just pure debt driven. So, there's really good news here. And I predicted 50,000 on the Dow. I predicted a broad-based S&P rally. I don't know if you know this,
• 07:00 - 07:30 Kristen, but it was seven AI stocks that pulled up the S&P 500 during the Biden years. That's not growth. And yet, I mean, Mr. Navaro, look, the president's after the president's policies were announced, we did see uh the markets dropped, the bond market was spooked, consumer confidence has plummeted and inflation fears are at the highest level since 1981. Let me just ask you, we did have the greatest greatest rally in stock market history for many, many decades. this last week,
• 07:30 - 08:00 but they're down from when the president announced his policies overall. Let me ask you so that we can get this information to folks. Give me the topline number. How many countries is the administration currently negotiating with to get a trade deal? Let me see how many I can do. And remember, Kristen, uh we talked offline about this. We started doing this long before we announced the pause in the reciprocal tariffs in anticipation of this. So, we've got the UK We've got the EU, we've got India,
• 08:00 - 08:30 we've got Japan, we've got North Korea, we've got U Indonesia, uh we've got Israel, and they're just lining up outside the door of Jameson Greer, the trade rep, Howard Lutnik, is very much a part of that. South Korea, did I say? Yes. Okay. I just want to make sure there The only thing I can say about North Korea is it's quiet. Rocket Man's quiet again. We're getting by the way this is really important for for
• 08:30 - 09:00 peace in our time because we had prosperity and peace. Uh president is working hard with people like Steve Whit uh on peace Gaza in Ukraine with Iran as we speak. There's action going on there. Do you know what that will mean for oil prices and for everything else? Very quickly. Are you talking to China? Is the administration talking to China right now? We have opened up uh our our invitation to them. Look, the president has a has a really
• 09:00 - 09:30 good relationship. No talks right now. The president has has a good very good relationship with President Xi and we're going through a period where we we hope that we'll be able to get to the other side of that. But but here, let me say this about China. I think this is really important. China has killed over a million people with their fentanyl. We only we lost around 60,000 people in the Vietnam
• 09:30 - 10:00 War. China has killed over a million people. China has taken over 60,000 of our factories, over 5 million manufacturing jobs. As we speak, every American is subject to hacking by the Chinese trying to get their money or their data. and the the conflict we're having with them cannot be understated and we have to be cleareyed about that. Having said that, it would be nice if China did what they should do, which is
• 10:00 - 10:30 move to a more uh domestic consumption-driven economy and stop being the predator of the world. A couple more questions for you. We're almost out of time. I want to let you to respond to this back and forth with Elon Musk. Elon Musk was publicly advocating for a zero tariff trade deals. That goes against what you believe in, what President Trump believes in presumably. But did Elon Musk win here given these pauses and exclusives? So, so first of all, Elon and I are great. It's not an issue even though he called you a and dumber than a sack of bricks. I've
• 10:30 - 11:00 been called worse. Everything's fine with Elon. And and look, Elon's doing a very good job with his team uh with waste, fraud, and abuse. That's a tremendous contribution to America and no man doing that kind of thing should be subject to having his cars firebombed by crazy. I mean that is like broad agreement there. So nobody should have to come into this government and have that happen or have to go to jail like I did. So is what Elon saying does is he disagreeing with the president's
• 11:00 - 11:30 policies. Mr. Navaro. So let's talk about the zero tariff issue. Okay. Because this is really kind of interesting. We had Vietnam come to us first and then the EU. Zero tariffs get America the American people virtually nowhere. Particularly with a country like Vietnam which sells us $15 for every $1 we sell. Doesn't doesn't work. The big problem we have are the non-tariff barriers, the currency manipulation, the dumping, the VAT taxes, all of that stuff that that are
• 11:30 - 12:00 that we have no defense against other than tariffs right now. Very quickly because we are out of time. I'll stay as long as you want. To the reports that you've been sidelined Cory Booker to the reports that you've been sidelined, Mr. Navaro. Yeah. Is that true? Have you been sidelined? This is like the world. It's Yes or no? Cuz we're out of time. Uh, I'm here. Okay. So, is that a no? I'm here. I'm here on Meet the Press. All right. I think you like to think this is the top show on Sunday. I like to think so. I guess I'm here. I like to think so, Mr. I'll come back. Appreciate it very much. We hope you do. You have
• 12:00 - 12:30 that invitation. Second email. Thank you for being here in the history of the program. Thank you so much. Appreciate that. Thanks for watching. Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media.