Navarro on Canada trade talks: ‘They will stab you in the back’

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro tore into Canada on Friday over the escalating trade war with the U.S., accusing the longtime ally of negotiating in bad faith after backing out of last week’s talks.

“They will stab you in the back,” Navarro said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” while discussing the tit-for-tat tariffs imposed by the two nations following failed trade negotiations after Canada rejected the terms of a potential deal.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer noted Wednesday that Canada sought concessions during negotiations that were considered “too much” for the U.S. to accommodate.

“We felt that giving them the best deal in the world would have been enough to get us over the hump and put us on a positive track to even bigger and better things,” Greer said.

President Trump’s move to impose 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports prompted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to match it with “dollar for dollar” retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. effective Sept. 8.

Navarro said Trump was holding back on his criticism when he recently described Canadian officials as the “toughest” and “nastiest” negotiators on trade.

“This time, we gave them a really good deal. And then they try to retrade it,” he told host Blake Burman. “And then Carney starts talking his smack and [Ontario Premier] Doug Ford starts talking his smack.”

Following Carney’s retaliatory tariffs, Trump threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on Canadian automobiles, parts and steel beginning Jan. 1.

Navarro, one of the administration’s most outspoken tariff advocates , said he believed the president would follow through on his threat.

The trade adviser also accused Ottawa, without evidence, of meddling with U.S. elections ahead of the midterms, claiming that Canada attempted to influence lawmakers on trade policy.

“This is election interference by Canada. And this is nothing new,” he said. “They have more lobbyists than K Street. They come down and lobby our Congress on trade.”