Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro said Wednesday that Toyota’s planned $3.6 billion investment in the United States, including moving Tacoma truck production from Mexico to San Antonio, Texas, reflects the Trump administration’s trade policies and will be followed by additional automakers shifting production to the U.S.
Appearing on Newsmax’s "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," Navarro said the decision was driven by "simple economics," not direct negotiations with Toyota.
"You don't have to have discussions with companies. It's simple economics," Navarro said, pointing to the administration’s Section 232 tariffs and its decision not to renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on schedule.
Navarro argued the current trade pact "hasn't worked," saying, "We've had a trade deficit that went up 50% with USMCA — that wasn't supposed to happen."
He added that Toyota’s investment will create "2,000 jobs direct, another 20,000 because of the supply chain effects and the multiplier effects."
Navarro predicted other automakers will follow Toyota’s lead.
"This is going to be the first. You're going to see Hyundai, you're going to see Honda, you're going to see Nissan. Everybody's going to come here because of those factors."
He sharply criticized Mexico, accusing it of becoming "a staging area" for Chinese auto parts entering the U.S. market.
"Mexico has essentially become a staging area to come into the U.S.," Navarro said, arguing that Chinese manufacturers have "poured in with investment into Mexico" and benefited from what he called lax rules governing regional content under USMCA.
"Mexico needs to get their act together, essentially," he said.
Responding to questions about lower labor costs in Mexico, Navarro said modern auto manufacturing is driven more by technology than wages.
"That's kind of old-school thinking," he said.
"In the auto industry, it's all about productivity. That means robots and machines and advanced technology," he said.
Navarro credited the administration’s trade policy for changing companies’ investment decisions.
"The 25% tariff that we've imposed, not just on autos, but auto parts, has made the big difference. And that's why these companies are coming."
He said the tariffs are intended "to overcome unfair trade practices" and argued the U.S. "cannot afford to lose our auto industry."
Linking manufacturing to national defense, Navarro said President Donald Trump has long viewed "national security and economic security" as interconnected, recalling how U.S. auto plants became "tank plants and aircraft plants" during World War II.
Asked about President Trump’s criticism of Spain over its role in supporting NATO operations, Navarro said the issue was "not my lane," but defended the president’s broader frustration with U.S. allies.
"The amount of money that American taxpayers put into NATO, and then all we ask them to do is to help us secure their petroleum from the Strait of Hormuz. We don't get any help from there."
Navarro added that "President Trump is rightfully not happy" and argued Americans should remember that Iran has "been costing us nothing but money and blood" through decades of support for terrorism."
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