Senate Republicans are not at all pleased with Peter Navarro, a top trade adviser to President Trump, after he said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau belongs in a “special place in hell” for daring to confront the president at the G-7 summit over the weekend.
While Republicans are already wary about the trade talks with a group of key allies, their fears were met Sunday when Navarro escalated tensions with Canada — a top U.S. ally — after labeling Trudeau as “dishonest” and “weak.” Navarro, one of the lone supporters of tariffs, has long been met with opposition from Republicans on Capitol Hill who believe he is only making trade talks worse with a cadre of key nations.
“I thought he should keep his big mouth shut,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a key ally of the president on Capitol Hill. “We should not have a lesser official like that making those kind of comments against the leader of Canada … It does no good.”
Navarro’s comments were part of a larger White House effort to critique Trudeau, who said that Canada would impose retaliatory tariffs to answer Trump’s decision to slap the Canadians and others with 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, warning that Canada would not be “pushed around.” Trump himself took issue with the comments from the Canadian leader, which came after Trump departed for Singapore to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Navarro’s remarks, coupled with those from Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council and a longtime free-trade backer, were worrisome for Republicans. While many are free-trade supporters in their own right, others worry that tariffs and a trade war could kill any economic gains the party has sought, including through the tax law they passed in December, ahead of November.
“I’m pretty sure that circles of hell are not reserved for Canadians proposing retaliatory tariffs,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “I have long expressed concerns — there are voices in the administration who are skeptics of trade, who want to see more tariffs and less trade. I hope those voices don’t prevail in these discussions.”
The remarks from the White House come at an odd time for Senate Republicans who are weighing whether to support an amendment proposed by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., that would give Congress authority to approve presidential tariffs. The president has tried to kill the effort, pointing to the possible impact it could have on his negotiating position with other countries.
Cruz told reporters Monday that he is not supporting the amendment, but the bill has support among top free trade supporters in the caucus. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said that Trump should not be able to unilaterally impose tariffs for a reason that is not at all national security related.
“It’s pretty clear this isn’t about national security that is one of the reasons I object,” Toomey said, pointing to Trump’s renegotiation with South Korea on trade as evidence. Trump himself seemed to admit this over the weekend when he said in a tweet that his round of tariffs were “in response” to Canada’s 270 percent tax on U.S. dairy products. The Pennsylvania Republican also was not moved by Navarro’s strong words aimed at Trudeau.
“They didn’t sound very constructive to me,” Toomey said.
Corker is hoping his amendment is added on to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the Senate will take up this week.
