Unperturbed Trump Advisor Amid Record Losses in Trade: Billions Vanished, Yet He Remains Unfazed
Revised Article:
Heads up, global leaders, buckle up – this is just the start! That's the message from a top White House trade official as US President Donald Trump's tariff plans aim big.
Peter Navarro, the president's senior advisor on trade and manufacturing, penned an opinion piece for the Financial Times on Monday, highlighting how other countries have used a host of "non-tariff weapons" to target American products beyond straightforward tariffs. These weapons, he pointed out, include regulations targeting big US tech companies, "discriminatory" product standards, and value-added taxes (VATs), albeit the latter might not single out imports.
"To those world leaders who, after decades of cheating, are suddenly offering to lower tariffs - know this: that's just the beginning," Navarro cautioned.
Trump's proposed tariffs have sent shivers down global stock markets lately. Since announcing these hefty "reciprocal" tariffs on goods imported from numerous countries last week, the S&P 500 has plummeted nearly 11%, causing a massive $5.2 trillion to vanish from America's benchmark stock index alone. The market rout made the transition from a bull market to the brink of a bear market faster than under any modern president.
Based on Monday's closing numbers, the S&P 500 has dropped a stark 17.6% from its February 19 record high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index, meanwhile, has slipped into bear market territory, posting a 22.6% decline from its all-time high on December 16 to Monday's close.
But Navarro seems unbothered, referring to Trump's tariff agenda as a "long-overdue restructuring" of a global trading system long skewed against America. He beliefs that Trump's reciprocal tariff doctrine does what the World Trade Organization (WTO) failed to do – it keeps foreign countries accountable.
Trump has been vocal about what he perceives as years of lopsided trade between the United States and other nations. According to the White House, America's trading partners impose steeper tariffs on its goods compared to the tariffs they apply to imports from the US.
Navarro singled out America's trade deficit in goods, which peaked at a record-$1.2 trillion in 2024, as a "crisis." However, in services trade, the US maintains a surplus of $295 billion with the rest of the world.
Notwithstanding, Navarro urged that "America must – and now is – defending itself." This defense involves forthcoming tariffs of 34% and 20% on major trading partners China and the European Union, respectively.
In response, the EU stated Tuesday that Europe and China have a responsibility to "support a strong reformed trading system, free, fair, and founded on a level playing field." After a call between Ursula von der Leyen, a top EU official, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang to discuss EU-China relations, this was the EU's stance, according to an issued statement.
If the Trump administration is "defending" itself as Navarro suggests, it's also doing so against some of the world's poorest nations. For instance, Trump has slapped Madagascar, an impoverished island off the coast of Southern Africa, with a whopping 47% tariff, on top of the 10% tariff he has imposed on all countries.
In contrast to Navarro's penchant for high tariffs, Elon Musk – the richest man in the world and a top Trump supporter – advocated for a "zero-tariff situation" between Europe and the US on Sunday.
Musk doesn't appear to hold Navarro in high regard. In an exchange on social media Saturday, which has since been deleted, Musk expressed his thoughts on Navarro's academic background: "A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing." Musk added, "He ain't built sh*t."
- Ursula von der Leyen, a top EU official, called for a "strong reformed trading system" with China, commenting that Europe and China have a responsibility to support such a system, free, fair, and founded on a level playing field.
- Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and a top Trump supporter, advocated for a "zero-tariff situation" between Europe and the US, contrasting his stance with the high tariffs proposed by Peter Navarro, who is known for his academic background in economics from Harvard.
- On Wednesday, the Trump administration plans to impose tariffs of 34% and 20% on major trading partners China and the European Union, respectively, as part of its "long-overdue restructuring" of the global trading system.
