President Trump’s top trade adviser on Friday reassured jittery investors and business leaders that the U.S. was not starting a trade war with China, after new tariffs start Wall Street selloff.
“We are not trying to pick a fight with anybody. We are just trying to get a better deal for the American people. That’s all,” Peter Navarro, director of the White House National Trade Council, said on Fox Business Network.
He added, “We come in peace.”
Mr. Navarro said new tariffs on China, which have a delayed rollout, are spurring crucial trade negotiations.
The tariffs Mr. Trump unveiled Thursday on China’s high-tech imports and other get-tough measures against China’s theft of intellectual property helped set off a selling frenzy on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 724 points, or more than 2.93 percent after the announcement. The Dow was mostly flat Friday, posting a roughly 50 point loss at midday.
China responded with moves to impose tariffs on $3 billion of U.S. goods, compared to the $60 billion value of Mr. Trump’s new tariffs.
Mr. Navarro credited the president’s tough policies with bringing Beijing to the negotiating table to address America’s $347 billion trade deficit with China.
He noted studies that calculate 6,000 lobs are lost for every $1 billion in trade deficits, which puts the number of jobs lost to China at more than 2 million.
“We do come in peace. This is not going to be settled through a fight but through negotiations,” he said. “We have in the White House there the best negotiator in the world — the man who know the ’Art of the Deal.’”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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