President Trump’s hastily announced tariffs on steel and aluminum will have “no country exclusions” and he’s not ruling out pulling out from the World Trade Organization, White House adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday.
Navarro defended Trump’s new tariff plan on CNN’s “State of the Union,” arguing the Republicans who are concerned about it setting off a trade war are “dead wrong” on the economics.
Navarro claimed the steel and aluminum tariffs, which Trump announced suddenly without consulting key departments first, will have “no downstream effects.”
But the tariffs, meant to target China, would also hurt American allies like Canada and, if fully implemented, could spur a global trade war. The European Union threatened retaliation on Friday, which would cost 190,000 American jobs, according to Moody’s Analytics.
If a full trade war broke out among countries, the U.S. could lose some 4 million jobs, Moody’s chief economist told the Washington Post.
Navarro wouldn’t rule out a U.S. break from the World Trade Organization, refusing to say if the the administration is considering it.
