EXCLUSIVE: Peter Navarro Reveals The Real Plan Behind Trump’s New Tariffs

Top trade adviser Peter Navarro explained President Donald Trump’s tariff philosophy with the Daily Caller in an exclusive interview, noting that the president is trying to get Mexico, Canada, and China to take action on the deadly fentanyl crisis in the US.

All three countries have a key role in the trafficking of fentanyl, as China is the main provider of the highly addictive and deadly drug to cartels, who then use the Canadian and Mexican borders to shuttle fentanyl to U.S. consumers.

“The fundamental problem is a Super Bowl size group of Americans die each year from fentanyl that originates in communist China and works its way via the drug cartels in Mexico, through both Mexico and Canada, into the veins and stomachs of Americans to then die because of that,” Navarro told the Caller, adding that there are border and national security threats that are being weighed as the administration moves forward with tariffs on all three countries. 

Just a few days into his second term, President Donald Trump shook America’s neighbors to the North and South with the threat of significant tariffs. The administration said it would hit Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff and China with a 10% tariff beginning on Feb. 4, with a reciprocal tariff clause.

Thirteen hours before the tariffs went into effect, swift concessions were made by Mexico and Canada. Both agreed to various border initiatives, including cracking down on cartels running fentanyl into the US, and Trump decided to pause the tariffs for a month.

But the month is up and the tariffs are set to go back into effect, with Trump doubling the tariff on charged imports from China.

Ahead of the February tariff deadline, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send 10,000 soldiers to the border. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau similarly announced new border measures, including the designation of cartels as terrorist organizations.

The left-wing media reported the deals as a loss for Trump, while the president viewed them as positive developments. Navarro also contested the framing that either of the two countries “caved” to Trump’s demands. Rather, he, said the United States was making a very simple ask with which Mexico and Canada should have been happy to comply.

“All we are asking our good allies to do is stop killing Americans. If you frame it that way, this is the most reasonable thing in the world,” Navarro told the Caller.

U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter after signing a series of executive orders including 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, a pardon for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an order relating to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and an order for the federal government to stop using paper straws and begin using plastic straws in the Oval Office at the White House on February 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China were just the beginning. Since then, the president has indicated that European countries could also face a 25% tariff on their exports. Trump’s suggested that there should be separate tariffs on automobiles, computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs alongside the reciprocal tariffs. Trump has also directed his administration to consider a possible tariff on copper imports. (RELATED: ‘It’s A Serious Thing’: Peter Navarro Explains National Security Implications Of Copper Dumping In US Markets)

Amid the flurry of tariff announcements, Navarro told the Caller that Trump “certainly” has the vision of the nation going back to pre-income tax days where the government was funded primarily by tariffs.

“That’s right out of the Alexander Hamilton playbook,” Navarro told the Caller.

“This is what President Trump is seeking, a fundamental restructuring of the global trade environment in a way which America is no longer plundered and is able to enjoy prosperity and security for our people. And tariffs are a key instrument of moving forward on that,” Navarro said. He added that Trump has stressed the removal of tariffs if Americans start producing goods at home. 

Navarro even went as far as to explain to CNN on Monday that Americans will be saving billions of dollars under Trump’s plan for reciprocal tariffs, a far cry from typical economists’ arguments that tariffs will lead to increased prices on consumers. Navarro explained that with reciprocal tariff policies, nations will have to drop tariffs on U.S. products, as well as non-tariff barriers on American workers and corporations. In turn, American manufacturing will have a better shot at competing with foreign companies and, ultimately, will make more money.

“President Trump has adopted a doctrine of reciprocal trade if countries hit us with higher trade barriers and regulatory barriers, and taxpayers, we will take back what they’ve taken from us using the tool of a reciprocal tariff, and it’s the fairest thing in the world,” Navarro said.

“It’s not a left to right issue, it’s an American issue,” he added. 

Navarro also argued that with American companies facing tariffs on their exports, they are making less profit. That is less money that can be taxed by the federal government and thus a greater share of the tax burden that falls on individual Americans rather than corporations.

However, Navarro acknowledged that the administration is ultimately not looking to use tariffs as a protectionist industrial policy.

“With tariffs, we take a light hand. This is not an administration which is leading with our industrial policy hand,” Navarro explained. 

“One of the big mistakes of the Biden regime was to appropriate a bunch of money we didn’t have and throw it at stupid industries which were not really our future, and I’m thinking, in particular, like electric vehicles. But the beauty of tariffs is, if you get a level playing field with the tariffs or with our trading partners eliminating their trade barriers, you’ll basically let market forces determine what should be built,” Navarro said.