'Really like where we are at now': Trump trade adviser's bizarre remark as US economy shrinks amid tariff war

The US economy unexpectedly shrunk in the first three months of this year, impacted by the early effects of President Donald Trump’s policies, particularly the inconsistent approach to tariffs. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the world’s largest economy decreased at an annual rate of 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, following a growth rate of 2.4 per cent in the final months of 2024, according to an estimate from the US Commerce Department.

Peter Navarro, White House senior trade adviser, has claimed the economic data that showed the U.S. economy had contracted by 0.3 percent actually showed positive news. Navarro said that, if the negative effect of the surge in imports because of Trump's tariffs is removed, "you have three percent growth."

Peter Navarro told CNBC, "I got to say just one thing about today's news, that's the best negative print I have ever seen in my life. And the markets need to look beneath the surface of that.


"We had a 22 percent increase in domestic investment. That is off the charts. When you strip our inventories and the negative effects of the surge in imports because of the tariffs you have three percent growth, so we really like where we are at now," he added.

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Peter Navarro blames media

Trump's chief trade adviser blamed the media, arguing that news outlets are using “scare tactics” to create more fear among the public as President Trump enacts his trade agenda. “Well, usually a deal, as the media loves to remind us, takes a long time — 18 months to whatever. But we’re going to do this in Trump time, which is to say regular time,” Navarro said Tuesday in an appearance on NewsNation’s “On Balance.”

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“You will see, and you did mention that the American public has a short memory, all the misery that the media is inflicting upon it now, with all its scare tactics, will go away as the first deal comes,” he told host Leland Vittert.

Navarro predicted the first trade deals the US could strike are with the United Kingdom, India or South Korea. After those are taken care of, he argued, the public will see the effectiveness of Trump’s approach to trade.

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“As soon as we begin to what will be a sea, a march of deals, people will begin to understand that the strategy that Trump has adopted is perfectly correct that the world needs to stop screwing us,” the trade adviser said.

Navarro’s comments underscore the mixed signals in the latest GDP report and the ongoing debate among economists about what it truly reveals about the US economy. While the headline figure shows a 0.3 percent contraction in the first quarter of 2025—mainly due to a spike in imports as companies hurried to build inventories ahead of expected tariffs—there are underlying signs of strength.

Notably, domestic investment surged, with business fixed investment climbing 9.8 percent. This uptick suggests that companies are investing heavily in capital projects, which could boost productivity and support job growth over the long term.