44 TIMESeptember 3–10, 2018
Economy
The “insuferably bigoted, close-minded,
and dangerously well-disciplined storm
troopers on the religious right,” he wrote
in a 1998 memoir,San Diego Conidential,
“wield far too much inluence at the ballot
box.” The GOP was in thrall to “bufoons,
sociopaths, and zealots like Rush
Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and Ralph
Reed.” Its economic policies consisted of
“tax schemes to further enrich the rich,”
and its leaders could not be trusted “to do
anything but trash the environment under
the phony banner of economic progress.”
Twenty years ago, Navarro was a
liberal economist who admired Hillary
Clinton, argued for taxing the rich and
had run for oice as a Democrat four
times. Today he is a top economic adviser
to a Republican President. As Donald
Trump’s director of trade and industrialpolicy, Navarro is known for his advocacy
of tarifs and opposition to trade deals. It
is Navarro who has pushed Trump to wage
an escalating trade war that pits the U.S.
against not only economic adversaries like
China but also allies like Canada and the
European Union. He is the most powerful
person in Washington on the most volatile
issue of Trump’s presidency.
Navarro’s positions put him at odds
with most economists, most Republicans
and many in the business community.
But they are in sync with the President’s
long-standing conviction that the U.S.
is being ripped of by other countries.
“Trump listens to Peter, especially when
it comes to China,” says Stephen Moore,
a fellow at the conservative Heritage
Foundation, who frequently advises
Trump and who disagrees with the tarif
push. It is Navarro who helps translate
Trump’s beliefs into action, supplying
him with policy direction, airmation
and arguments to help his case. His role
is akin to that of Trump’s senior policy
adviser, Stephen Miller, who has become
notorious for pushing Trump toward
the restrictionist immigration policies
he instinctively favors. Navarro, though
less well known, is the Miller of economic
policy, the voice in Trump’s ear that eggs
him on against the experts.
His power has grown in recent
months. Navarro, 69, won a formal
promotion in February. Most of his free-
trade opponents on Trump’s economic
team have left the Administration. The
U.S. has moved aggressively to implement
his preferred policies, imposing wide-
ranging tarifs on billions of dollars’
worth of imported goods. “Trump wantsIf Peter Navarro ever
doubted that he was
a Democrat, a look
at the other side was
enough to convince
him. Republicans
talked about virtue and
prosperity, but they
were really a bunch
of greedy, intolerant
hypocrites, he thought.
Key battles in
Trump’s trade war
Under the guidance of economic adviser
Peter Navarro, President Trump has
pursued punitive policies toward major
trade partners—from China to Europe
to neighboring Canada. In July, Trump
threatened to roll out tariffs on nearly all
U.S. imports from China, totaling more
than $500 billion in goods. Here’s what
has happened so far, in 2018:
JAN. 22
Trump approves
tariffs on imported
washing machines
and solar panels
to help U.S.
manufacturers.
Some solar-
industry
representatives
protest the move,
arguing it will
dampen demand
and hurt solar-
panel installers.MARCH 1
Trump announces
tariffs on steel and
aluminum from
most countries,
ultimately covering
$41 billion in
imports. Because
little comes from
China due to prior
trade restrictions,
this policy mainly
affects U.S. allies
like Canada, the
E.U. and Mexico.APRIL 2
China retaliates,
imposingtariffs
on U.S. exports
including scrap
aluminum, pork,
fruits and nuts.
The value of these
goods—about
$3billion—mirrors
the value of
Chinese steel and
aluminum imports.JUNE 10
In a sign of the
tariffs’ diplomatic
repercussions,the
normally cordial
G-7 summit melts
down,with Trump
insulting Canadian
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and
pulling out of the
group’s previously
negotiated joint
communiqué.
SOURCES: PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL
ECONOMICS; DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; NEWS REPORTS