Trump Names China Critic UC Irvine Prof to Lead Trade Council

President-elect Donald J. Trump has named University of California Irvine economics professor Peter Navarro to lead the new White House council on trade.

The Los Angeles Times notes that Navarro is “known for his fierce criticisms of Chinese trade and economic practices,” and speculates: “Trump is signaling that he wants to follow through on his tough campaign rhetoric in which he blamed the Chinese for the large U.S. trade deficit and manufacturing woes.”

The Orange County Register reports:

The University of California-Irvine professor, who advised Trump during the campaign, has sharply criticized China’s economic and military policies in books and videos. In addition to leading the new White House National Trade Council, Navarro will be director of trade and industrial policy.

In 2011, Navarro wrote a book called Death by China: Confronting the Dragon – A Global Call to Action. He has also written other critical books on China, such as The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought and How They Can Be Won, and Crouching Tiger: What China’s Militarism Means for the World.

Forbes contributor Tim Worstall called Navarro “Trump’s one truly worrying appointment,” owing to his views on trade.

In a statement, the Trump transition team said:

The formation of the National Trade Council further demonstrates the President-elect’s determination to make American manufacturing great again and to provide every American the opportunity to work in a decent job at a decent wage. Navarro is a visionary economist and will develop trade policies that shrink our trade deficit, expand our growth, and help stop the exodus of jobs from our shores.

…

“I read one of Peter’s books on America’s trade problems years ago and was impressed by the clarity of his arguments and thoroughness of his research,” said President-elect Trump. “He has presciently documented the harms inflicted by globalism on American workers, and laid out a path forward to restore our middle class. He will fulfill an essential role in my administration as a trade advisor.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.