Navarro Says Trump Laying Foundation For Tariffs To Come

President Donald Trump laid out an ambitious trade agenda Monday night that paves the way for tariffs on a number of fronts, White House trade counselor Peter Navarro said Tuesday.

In a memo to incoming Cabinet leaders, Trump showed he wants to "quickly" conduct a number of "foundational studies" on the need for tariffs, Navarro said in an interview on Fox Business News. "This isn't a long process to set the stage," he added, even though many trade observers had expected Trump to move much faster on tariffs, especially on China.

"I think you could call it the blueprint and the foundation for the tariffs and trade policies that may or may not emerge over the next 100 days," Navarro continued. "You've got discussions about the universal baseline tariff. You've got discussions about the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement], which needs to be reviewed in 2026."

Trump's lengthy trade “memorandum” initiated nearly two dozen possible trade actions but postponed decisions until April 1 at the earliest. However, during an impromptu press conference Monday night, Trump also said that Mexico and Canada faced a Feb. 1 deadline to avoid 25 percent tariff by addressing U.S. concerns about illegal immigration and fentanyl shipments coming into the United States.

When asked about the conflicting dates, Navarro said the timing of any tariffs on the two large U.S. trading partners was Trump's decision to make. However, he also underscored the need for Canada and Mexico to take action to address Trump's concerns.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) echoed that point in a separate interview on Fox Business, saying he hoped Mexico and Canada could quickly reach a deal with the United States so that Trump doesn't need to follow through on his threat.

"He's not bluffing. He's perfectly willing to pull that trigger," Cruz said.

Kelly Ann Shaw, a partner at Hogan Lovells who worked on trade in Trump's first administration, called the Monday night memo "a murderers row of potential trade actions. It puts everyone on notice of where the president may go."

She also pooh-poohed any idea that it indicated Trump was off to a slow start on trade.

"These are complicated issues. I think the president's far-reaching executive order foreshadows a significant overhaul of U.S. trade and economic policy. I thought his announcement was significant," Shaw said.

Navarro, in the TV interview, said the Trump administration views "tariffs as tax cuts," referring to the idea that Republicans could heavily rely on the duties to help pay for the multi-trillion-dollar cost of extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts for another 10 years.

"It's a great source of revenue," as well as "a major tool" to protect U.S. workers, manufacturers and farmers against unfair trade, Navarro said.