[Text/Observer Network Wang Yi] After Trump announced the imposition of "reciprocal tariffs" at the beginning of the month, causing a plunge in US stocks, Peter Navarro, who was considered a key player in tariff policy, instantly became the target of public criticism.

The New York Times reported on April 20 that mainstream economists severely criticized Navarro, believing that his tariff policies would raise prices, slow economic growth, and have counterproductive effects on the US economy.

Edward Alden, a senior research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who studies trade, called Navarro "perhaps the worst trade advisor a modern U.S. president has ever had." Alden said that while Navarro's analysis of other countries' unfair trade policies may hold some merit, he has reinforced Trump's worst tendencies, fueling "chaotic tariff policies that are harming the U.S. and global economies."

"He helped turn the U.S. from a world economic leader into a rogue nation," Alden said.

Bryan Riley, director of the free trade initiative at the National Taxpayers' Union, a conservative lobbying group, also criticized letting Navarro dominate trade policy, saying it was like "having someone who believes the Earth is flat run NASA."

Even within the Trump administration, there were numerous voices opposing Navarro. The Wall Street Journal reported on the 13th that Trump's sudden decision to delay the imposition of most "reciprocal tariffs" was largely due to Treasury Secretary Bessent and Commerce Secretary Lutnik. They persuaded Trump to suspend the full-scale tariffs while Navarro was attending another meeting.

Navarro and Bessent, data photo

After being mocked by Navarro as an "automobile assembler," Musk retaliated, calling Navarro "dumber than a bag of bricks," and then sarcastically remarked that such comparisons were "unfair to bricks."

The New York Times reported that this tough scholar and aggressive "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" attack dog was used to being insulted. During Trump's first term, Navarro served as a trade advisor, and for most of the time, he was marginalized, ridiculed, and belittled by other officials. They mocked him for fabricating a supposed expert with his own name to endorse himself. These officials believed that Navarro's protectionist views were wrong and dangerous for the United States.

Now, Navarro has returned to power alongside Trump. The New York Times noted that within less than 100 days of taking office, Navarro assisted Trump in implementing six major trade initiatives, pushing US tariffs to their highest levels in a century. Two people familiar with the government told the paper that Navarro was likely the inventor of Trump's "reciprocal tariff" formula, which was derided by outsiders as simplistic and crude, akin to "elementary school homework."

However, regardless of how loud the criticism was, the Trump administration publicly remained firmly supportive of Navarro. White House spokesperson Kush Desai praised Navarro as "an invaluable asset" who had understood the harm of unfair trade policies to American workers "decades ahead of mainstream 'experts.'"

Richard Grenell, a former Trump administration official and current interim chairman of the Kennedy Center, also expressed support for Navarro's efforts to expand American manufacturing. He candidly admitted, "If we don't exploit other countries, we won't produce anything; we'll just become a consumer nation. That will mark our end."

Navarro declined to respond to whether he pushed Trump to impose tariffs, but he told The New York Times that he was executing Trump's instructions and vision. He mocked mainstream economists who opposed Trump's agenda, calling them "fools," and supported trade agreements that were supposed to benefit Americans but only benefited Wall Street and foreign governments.

The New York Times reported that Navarro once defended free trade in his books and ran for public office several times as a Democrat, but China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 changed his views. Navarro blamed the unemployment of some of his students at the time on this and compiled his erroneous views into three books smearing China, one of which was The Deadly China, which contained a warning from the publisher about "fictional characters." This book was later adapted into a documentary that gained favor with Trump.

The article asked, but now the question is whether Navarro's proposed tariffs can withstand strong opposition and achieve the goals promised by Trump and Navarro.

The Trump administration imposed at least 10% tariffs on almost all products entering the United States, levied relevant tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles, and initiated investigations that could lead to tariffs on copper, timber, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. Comprehensive "reciprocal tariffs" on multiple countries are currently under negotiation...

Automakers, electronics manufacturers, farmers, small businesses, and others have been pressuring the White House about the potential damage caused by tariffs, calling for the cessation of tariff imposition.

Insiders told The New York Times that Bessent and other insiders within the Trump administration advocated lowering tariffs as a bargaining chip to open foreign markets, but Navarro continued to take an extreme stance against tariff exemptions. A person familiar with Navarro's thinking said he realized that the political window for pushing large-scale tariffs might be short, and he believed that granting exemptions could easily lead to tariffs being manipulated by special interest groups.

"Navarro may be losing this debate," The New York Times reported, market turmoil forced Trump to suspend some tariffs, rumors circulated that Navarro was in a precarious position within the team, and some critics even suspected he might be forced out of office.

David Autor, an economist at MIT, said it was difficult to give much positive evaluation to Navarro's policies. Autor said, "We are hitting our friends in the nose, tying our feet with tariffs, and then looking back to see that what we hoped wouldn't happen has happened."

This article is an exclusive contribution by Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7495691030893773375/

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