President Donald Trump has forced the nation's top trading partners to realize that "the era of American complacency in the international marketplace is over," White House Trade Council Director Peter Navarro said Saturday.
"Trade must be not only free but also fair and reciprocal," Navarro said in an op-ed in The New York Times. "American tariffs are among the lowest in the world.
"Our generosity and free-market good will has only led to a huge trade deficit and the transfer of wealth abroad."
He added that President Trump, in his efforts to bring about balanced trade with global partners, "reserves the right to defend those industries critical to our own national security.
"To do this, the United States has imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel imports.
"While critics may question how these metal tariffs can be imposed in the name of national security on allies and neighbors like Canada, they miss the fundamental point: These tariffs are not aimed at any one country," Navarro said.
"They are a defensive measure to ensure the domestic viability of two of the most important industries necessary for United States military and civilian production at times of crisis so that the United States can defend itself as well as its allies."
Here are some of the trade imbalances that President Trump is trying to correct, according to Navarro:
- Japan: The U.S. trade deficit was $70 billion last year — and for every car America exports to Tokyo, Japan sends more than 100 to the U.S. The country also has a complex regulatory system that makes it tough to sell American autos in Japan.
- Germany: The U.S. had a $64 billion deficit in 2017, with the tariff on cars made there and elsewhere in the European Union at 2.5 percent. But the EU has a 10 percent tariff on U.S. cars exported to Germany.
- Canada: The country dumps lumber into the United States, threatening jobs in Alaska, Oregon and other states. Other high non-tariff barriers harm U.S. wheat and barley growers. Canada also manipulates dairy prices to protect its farmers
Despite these deficits, President Trump's fair-trade efforts should not "stand in the way of our longstanding and productive strategic alliances and economic relationships with members of the Group of Seven," Navarro said.
"There will continue to be a strong need to cooperate on issues of mutual interest, including defending democracy and freedom against authoritarianism, and protecting our citizens from terrorism.
"This also means we should find common ground on fair and reciprocal trade in ways that favor market economics, lower trade barriers and are mutually beneficial to workers across the Group of Seven nations.
"But," Navarro concluded, "the days of accepting unfair trade practices are over."
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