US Trade Advisor Says There is Hope of NAFTA Renegotiation

Top Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro on Monday indicated hope for success in U.S. efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“It looks like we might get a really good deal on NAFTA,” Navarro told CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” in an interview.

Navarro also talked up President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs of up to $60 billion against China.

“China has engaged for a very long time in the theft of our intellectual property as well as practices like forced technology transfer,” said Navarro, author of several books highlighting what he sees as the danger of China’s economic rise, including “Death by China.” However, he added, “We’re hopeful there that the Chinese will work with us to basically address some of these practices.”

Those unfair trade practices, detailed by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, accuse China of using “joint venture requirements, foreign investment restrictions, and administrative review and licensing processes to force or pressure technology transfers from American companies.”

Earlier Monday, Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told CNBC Trump’s punitive measures on China as well as separate steel and aluminum tariffs are “designed to move us toward negotiations” to even the playing field for global trade.

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