Episode summary
Chronic Trade Deficit is 'Toxic' to US Future, Says Peter Navarro
Bloomberg Surveillance
· · Guests: Peter Navarro
Summary
Peter Navarro defended Donald Trump’s tariff agenda as a deliberate restructuring of the global trading system, arguing that the United States has been exploited for years under WTO rules, NAFTA, and USMCA. He said the result has been lost factories, lost jobs, and a chronic trade deficit that is “toxic” to America’s future because it pushes wealth, supply chains, and manufacturing offshore.
Navarro said the administration is preparing to re-evaluate USMCA in July and claimed Mexico and, to a lesser extent, Canada have become staging areas for goods from China and other countries seeking tariff avoidance. On the House vote to roll back tariffs on Canadian imports, he attacked Democrats for opposing tariffs and blamed a handful of Republicans for defecting, while insisting working-class voters and farmers still back Trump’s approach.
He also tied tariffs to the 2026 political fight, saying Republicans must hold the House to avoid another impeachment fight and that the White House is addressing affordability through tax cuts, deregulation, energy dominance, and fair trade. On the Supreme Court challenge to Trump’s tariff powers, Navarro said the administration believes the law is on its side and has a backup plan if the justices rule against it.
Key takeaways
- Navarro said the administration views a chronic trade deficit as “toxic” because it reflects factories, jobs and supply chains moving offshore.
- He argued USMCA has “significant flaws” and will be re-evaluated in July, with Jamieson Greer leading the review.
- Navarro said Mexico and Canada are being used as staging areas for tariff avoidance by China and other countries.
- He framed the tariff fight as politically central to the midterms, warning that losing the House would trigger another impeachment fight.
- On the Supreme Court case, he said the administration has a plan B if the justices rule against Trump’s tariff authority.
Notable quotes
“The trade deficit when it's chronic like it has been in large, like it has been, is toxic to the future of this country”
“I can tell you this, that USMCA has some significant flaws in it, and it's going to be re-evaluated in July”
“Mexico and to an extent Canada, are basically being used by staging areas for countries like China”
“The stakes have never been higher in a mid-term congressional election”
“we have a plan B, but this is not the place for me to talk about it”
How the episode opens
McKinley. Henry Clay. Abraham Lincoln.
Alexander Hamilton. These are like the four people on the Mount Rushmore of American Terrors. And we are not in any pivot away from that.
We are fully embracing a structural shift engineered by Donald Trump in the entire international global trading system in a way which will make that system better and more prosperous. The problem we've had, Tom, is under the rules, the very rules of the World Trade Organization, specifically the most favored nation rule. Every other nation in the world has had a license to cheat us through higher tariffs, higher non-tariff barriers.
And the cost, particularly after NAFTA and China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Right, has been in the hundreds, thousands of factories and the millions of jobs. And we are reversing that.
And you could see 50,000 on the Dow, which I predicted in April. Okay. In case you trump either you or Kevin Hassett, I'm going to give credit for that.
Peter Navarro, we're going to go with you on the sequence here. You mention the follow on from NAFTA. I spoke to our Josh Wingrove this morning and he made really clear what we need to know is the president actually thinking about moving away from our trade agreements with Mexico and Canada.
Have you ever heard the president say, I want out of NAFTA and everything that followed it? Tom I'm one of three people. Stephen Miller, Dan Scavino being the other two who was with the president from the 2016 campaign through all four years of the first term.
And the reason why that happened, among other things, is I never get ahead of the president. I can tell you this, that USMCA has some significant flaws in it, and it's going to be re-evaluated in July.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- tariffs
- trade deficit
- usmca
- midterm elections
- affordability
Watch the episode
Watch “Chronic Trade Deficit is 'Toxic' to US Future, Says Peter Navarro” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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