Navarro Downplays Impact from US-China Trade Dispute

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Thursday the economic impact of the U.S.-China trade situation is a “rounding error” when compared to the overall U.S. and China economies. He said President Trump is looking at the broader “chess board” with regard to trade strategy.“My point is that it is much less disruptive than these headlines would suggest, and it’s much more constructive as we see the adjustments made in terms of where investment is going to go and where we’re going to build,” he said Thursday during an interview on CNBC.The comments came as the Fed's Beige Book released Wednesday noted that businesses in all 12 Federal Reserve Districts noted impacts from the trade/tariff actions.Meanwhile, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, was quick to respond to Navarro's comments. “Mr. Navarro, America’s farmers are caught in the crosshairs of this game of ‘chess,'” Ernst said in a statement. "Offhand comments like the ones that Mr. Navarro made ... disregard the people whose livelihoods depend on global trade. In Iowa alone, more than 456,000 jobs are supported by trade, and these new tariffs are threatening $977 million in state exports. That is no ‘rounding error.'”