- Peter Navarro, White House Senior Counselor in Trade and Manufacturing In an interview, he said Vietnam’s offer for a 0% tariff on US imports “means nothing.” He added that removing tariffs in the US was just the beginning, shifting the focus to non-tariff trade barriers and other issues that require major internal changes in the target country.
Vietnam scrambled to avoid providing taxes on US imports after President Donald Trump hit the country with a 46% tariff, but the move wasn’t enough for Trump trade counselor Peter Navarro, who accused him of “fraud” and raised expectations for a country that would be targeted by the new tariffs.
Navarro, a senior counselor for Trump’s trade and manufacturing, Interview and CNBC The government’s offer “means nothing.” Monday.
“Let’s take Vietnam. When they come to us and say, ‘We’re going to zero tariffs,’ that means nothing to us.
Navarro said the allegations of “non-tariff fraud” he mentioned include including eschewing tariffs, stealing intellectual property and allowing the country to export to the country to collect value-added taxes (VAT) on the products.
Navarro later added that it is a barrier to export subsidies, currency manipulation and “fake” technology and safety for US agricultural products, amid many issues the administration sees as trading partners.
“They’re all cheating on us in different ways,” he said.
Fifty countries have already reached out to negotiate a customs agreement with the White House, said Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council. Fox News Monday. And while Navarro said Trump would listen to every offer, the president is sticking to tariffs on last week’s “liberation day.”
On Monday, Trump threatened China with an additional 50% tariff if it did not drop retaliatory tariffs on US imports.
Navarro argued that the Trump administration wanted to restore “equality” in global trade, but he also appears to have moved the goal post of the negotiating nation by highlighting “non-tariff barriers” over foreign tariff policies. Eliminating many of these policies, such as VAT, requires major domestic changes in the target countries.
He called the offer of 0% tariff on US imports in Vietnam and other countries “a small first start.”
“This zero tariff, that’s the wrong direction,” he added.
Navarro reportedly said the administration will be supporting American workers by combining it with tax cuts.
Meanwhile, the stock market fell sharply on tariff news, losing $6.6. The value of last week. On Monday afternoon, the stock saw some relief but was still shaking. The high-tech NASDAQ was less than 1%, while the benchmark S&P 500 index fell by 0.2%. The Dow Jones fell by 1%.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.
