Peter Navarro

Peter Kent Navarro (born July 15, 1949) is an American economist and author who served in the Trump administration, first as Deputy Assistant to the President and director of the White House National Trade Council, then as Assistant to the President, Director of the new Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy; he was also named the national Defense Production Act policy coordinator. He is a professor emeritus of economics and public policy at the Paul Merage School of Business of the University of California, Irvine. Navarro ran unsuccessfully for office in San Diego, California, five times. Navarro, who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election, was the first former White House official imprisoned on a contempt-of-Congress conviction.

Navarro's views on trade are significantly outside the mainstream of economic thought, and are widely considered fringe by other economists.}} A strong proponent of reducing U.S. trade deficits, Navarro is well known as a critic of Germany and China, and has accused both nations of currency manipulation. He is particularly known for his hardline views on China, describing it as an existential threat to the United States, accusing it of unfair trade practices and calling for more confrontational policies towards the country. He has called for increasing the size of the American manufacturing sector, setting high tariffs, especially towards China, and "repatriating global supply chains." He is also a vocal opponent of free trade agreements such as the US–South Korea Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Navarro has written books including ''The Coming China Wars'' (2006) and ''Death by China'' (2011).

As a Trump administration official, Navarro encouraged President Donald Trump to implement protectionist trade policies. He was a key official behind the China–United States trade war and advocating for hardline policies towards China; he was sanctioned by China after leaving office. During his final year in the Trump administration, Navarro was involved in the administration's COVID-19 response. Early on, he issued private warnings within the administration about the threat posed by the virus, but downplayed the risks in public. He publicly clashed with Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as Navarro advocated hydroxychloroquine as a treatment of COVID-19 and condemned various public health measures to stop the spread of the virus.

Navarro advanced conspiracy theories of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and in February 2022 was subpoenaed twice by Congress. Navarro refused to comply and was referred to the Justice Department. On June 2, 2022, a grand jury indicted him on two counts of contempt of Congress. On September 7, 2023, Navarro was convicted on both counts, and on January 25, 2024, he was sentenced to four months in jail and fined $9,500. He served his sentence at the minimum-security camp inside of the Miami Federal Correctional Institute. Navarro was released on July 17, 2024. He is a contributor to Project 2025''.''

On December 4, 2024, Trump announced that Navarro would serve as the senior counselor for trade and manufacturing in his second term. Provided by Wikipedia