Latest news with #DeathbyChina
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Oil diatribe by Navarro: Self-serving and narrow
Gift this article White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, once known by his books as a China hawk, has taken aim at India in a Financial Times op-ed published on Monday that reads like a diatribe. India funds Russia's Ukraine War, the article contends, by buying Russian oil, refining it, shipping refined products abroad and funnelling the dollars so earned back to Russia for yet more crude supplies. White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, once known by his books as a China hawk, has taken aim at India in a Financial Times op-ed published on Monday that reads like a diatribe. India funds Russia's Ukraine War, the article contends, by buying Russian oil, refining it, shipping refined products abroad and funnelling the dollars so earned back to Russia for yet more crude supplies. And where does India get these dollars to buy Russian oil? From unfair trade with the US, of course, liberally exporting goods to America while denying market access to American goods with high tariffs and non-tariff barriers, thus running up a bilateral trade surplus. He accuses Indian refiners of being profiteers with silent Russian partners. So, since we launder Russian crude for Russia's leader, in Navarro's view, we deserve the 25% tariff that US President Donald Trump said he would slap on our exports next week on top of his 'reciprocal' 25%. Our 'cozying up" with Russia and China also gets a glare. So too our insistence on tech transfers and local manufacture while shopping for arms in the West, even as we source over a third of our needs from Russia. With our oil imports portrayed as a 'financial lifeline" for Moscow's war machine, the op-ed ends with a finger wag: 'If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one." Navarro's selective outrage need not be taken all that seriously for reasons that go beyond his record as a writer, which includes such lapses as the invention of an economist called Ron Vara (an anagram of his name passed off as a joke) to validate claims in his 2011 book Death by China. The prime reason is his op-ed's disingenuous disregard for facts. Take Russia's exports. These are not just diverse, but to a variety of countries, including the US, which imports fertilizers, uranium and palladium from it. Apart from crude, Russia is a major exporter of coal, oil products and natural gas, both piped and liquefied. A look at its export data from December 2022 till the end of July 2025 reveals China as the biggest buyer of Russian crude (47%) and coal (44%). The EU has been its biggest buyer of piped gas (36%) and its liquefied form (51%). As for refined products, America's Nato ally Turkiye has been Russia's largest customer. India bought 38% of Russian crude exports, a share that's larger than the EU's or Turkiye's but clearly smaller than China's 47%. Yet, Navarro's article paints India's oil trade as fuelling a war that's essentially about Moscow's standoff with Nato—a distant dynamic in which we, as a neutral country, have played no role. Also Read: Kaushik Basu: India must not fall into Trump's tariff trap Is this a fear of dragons at work? Why such invective is directed at India, rather than Russia's 'no limits' partner China—or anybody at all for that matter—defies logic. Under Trump's plan for Nato, Europe must defend itself. Yet, the EU can't wean itself off Russian supplies of energy, an indication of why trade patterns that work cannot easily be undone. In any case, if the global market loses Russian supplies, energy prices would shoot up. This may tempt the Opec cartel to switch strategy and tighten its own supply. Various economies could be hurt, America's included. Ever since the Ukraine war erupted in 2022, our imports have helped keep crude prices cool. Navarro's prism may be too narrow to accept this, but fuel users of the world must. Topics You May Be Interested In
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Who is Trump's trade guru giving gyan to India?
Reuters Peter Navarro, Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing for U.S. President Donald Trump Peter Navarro, US President Donald Trump's trade adviser who is considered the brain behind Trump tariffs, has written an article in the Financial Times, lashing out at India for buying Russian oil, calling it "opportunistic and deeply corrosive of global efforts to isolate Putin's war economy". He warned that if India "wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one". Navarro alleged that India was "now cosying up to both Russia and China" and argued that New Delhi's Russian crude purchases must stop as they were financing Moscow's war in Ukraine. Navarro, however, made no mention of the fact that China, the biggest buyer of Russian oil, has not been punished by the US for that while India has been singled out. Trump has already imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, including a 25% penal levy for continued purchases of Russian oil, despite the external affairs ministry's assertion that India is being unfairly singled out while the US and EU continue to source energy from Moscow. Navarro, the architect of Trump's trade war and the hawkish face of US protectionism, is a colourful character who has faced disgrace for quoting a fictitious China expert in his books, was jailed for four months and is known for his public feuds. He stands as one of the most controversial and polarizing figures in recent American economic policymaking. A former professor-turned-economic nationalist, Navarro rose from relative academic obscurity to become a central architect of Trump's hawkish trade agenda. From academic to China hawk Navarro's journey into the policy spotlight began in academia. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University, but his academic record has been called dubious by critics due to the polemical nature of much of his later work. He taught economics and public policy at the University of California, Irvine, and while academically trained, Navarro rarely published in top-tier peer-reviewed economic journals. Instead, he found his niche in public-facing writing and media. Navarro's animosity toward China developed gradually and came to dominate his economic thinking. It crystallised in his 2011 book 'Death by China', co-authored with Greg Autry. The book accused China of illegal export subsidies, currency manipulation and other forms of economic aggression that, according to Navarro, decimated American manufacturing. The book also argued that China's economic rise posed a fundamental threat to the US, not just economically, but also geopolitically. In 2012, Navarro directed and produced a documentary version of 'Death by China', further cementing his role as one of the most strident China critics in US public discourse. His sharp rhetoric and alarmist tone earned him praise from nationalists but raised eyebrows in the academic and policy communities. His views would remain on the fringe until 2016, when Donald Trump's rise transformed Navarro from an academic ideologue to a powerful was brought into Trump's orbit after Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, came across 'Death by China' on Amazon. Intrigued by its thesis, Kushner contacted Navarro, eventually inviting him to join the Trump campaign. In the first Trump administration, he was made a trade advisor when he drafted aggressive trade policies designed to combat China's growing economic power. How Navarro shaped Trump's tariff policiesDuring Trump's first term, Navarro served as Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. His influence was immense and often underestimated. He aligned early with populist figures like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, and was instrumental in crafting Trump's 'America First' trade policy. Navarro played a central role in initiating the China–US trade war, lobbying for sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, and advising the President on ways to reduce trade was a firm supporter of the United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act, which would have given the President broad powers to impose tariffs on foreign nations. Though the bill failed in Congress, Navarro's advocacy signaled a deeper shift in US economic policy, from free trade consensus to aggressive bilateralism. He was also behind proposals to restrict Chinese students from studying in the US, claiming it was a matter of national tenure was marked by internal conflict. He frequently clashed with more moderate officials, especially Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The most dramatic instance came in May 2018, when Navarro and Mnuchin reportedly engaged in a heated shouting match on the lawn of a Chinese government building during trade negotiations. Navarro believed he was being sidelined and blamed Mnuchin for soft-pedaling the US stance. Navarro's rhetoric reached a diplomatic low point in June 2018, when he said there was 'a special place in hell' for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after Canada vowed retaliatory tariffs against the US. 'There's a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door," he said. Though he later apologised, the incident exemplified Navarro's inflammatory approach to international diplomacy. During Trump's second term, Navarro returned to the White House in a more powerful role as Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing. On Day One, he helped draft a sweeping trade policy memo that included reimposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports and instituting 'reciprocal tariffs' on imports from countries that impose tariffs on US goods. Navarro also succeeded in closing the de minimis duty exemption for imports from China, ending duty-free imports for packages under $800, a significant blow to Chinese e-commerce exporters. Navarro's hardline policies drew sharp criticism from both domestic and international actors, especially as they began to impact US corporations. His influence over Trump's increasingly isolationist trade strategy remains strong. When Navarro fabricated an expert in his booksNavarro's career has been marred by a series of controversies, both personal and political. Perhaps the most bizarre of Navarro's controversies was the revelation that he had invented a fictitious expert, 'Ron Vara,' whom he quoted extensively in at least six of his books. Ron Vara was described as a Harvard-educated economist and a fierce China critic, an apparent mouthpiece for Navarro's most extreme anti-China views. In reality, Ron Vara was an anagram of Navarro's own last hoax was exposed by the 'Chronicle of Higher Education', which found no record of any such person. Navarro admitted to fabricating the character, referring to him as a humorous 'literary device,' but critics saw it as deceptive and unethical. China's Foreign Ministry used the incident to dismiss Navarro's credibility, accusing him of 'smearing China with lies'.In April, Navarro had a public feud with Elon musk, by then a close Trump advisor. Navarro on CNBC dismissed a push by Musk for zero tariffs between the US and Europe, calling him a "car assembler" reliant on imported parts, and said he wanted the parts to be manufactured locally in the US. "Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false," Musk said in a post on X in a response to a video clip of Navarro's interview. "Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks." Musk also ridiculed Navarro's use of Ron Vara as an expert source. The feud highlighted growing divisions within the Trump administration between pro-business technocrats like Musk and economic nationalists like also became embroiled in the fallout of the 2020 election. A vocal supporter of Trump's efforts to overturn the results, Navarro refused to comply with two congressional subpoenas in 2022 regarding his involvement. As a result, he was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress. Convicted and sentenced to four months in prison, Navarro served time before reentering public life during Trump's return to his supporters, Navarro is a patriot who stood up to China and reshaped American trade policy in a way that protected US industries. To his critics, he is an ideologue who brought fringe economics into the mainstream, weakened alliances, and damaged the global trade system. Despite his controversies, Navarro has continued to shape American policy under Trump's second term. Navarro is not merely a policy advisor. He is a symbol of a broader ideological shift within American politics: away from globalism and toward protectionism, populism, and economic confrontation.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Who is Trump's trade guru giving gyan to India?
Peter Navarro , US President Donald Trump 's trade adviser who is considered the brain behind Trump tariffs, has written an article in the Financial Times, lashing out at India for buying Russian oil, calling it "opportunistic and deeply corrosive of global efforts to isolate Putin's war economy". He warned that if India "wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one". Navarro alleged that India was "now cosying up to both Russia and China " and argued that New Delhi's Russian crude purchases must stop as they were financing Moscow's war in Ukraine. Navarro, however, made no mention of the fact that China, the biggest buyer of Russian oil, has not been punished by the US for that while India has been singled out. Trump has already imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, including a 25% penal levy for continued purchases of Russian oil, despite the external affairs ministry's assertion that India is being unfairly singled out while the US and EU continue to source energy from Moscow. Navarro, the architect of Trump's trade war and the hawkish face of US protectionism, is a colourful character who has faced disgrace for quoting a fictitious China expert in his books, was jailed for four months and is known for his public feuds. He stands as one of the most controversial and polarizing figures in recent American economic policymaking. A former professor-turned-economic nationalist, Navarro rose from relative academic obscurity to become a central architect of Trump's hawkish trade agenda. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo From academic to China hawk Navarro's journey into the policy spotlight began in academia. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University, but his academic record has been called dubious by critics due to the polemical nature of much of his later work. He taught economics and public policy at the University of California, Irvine, and while academically trained, Navarro rarely published in top-tier peer-reviewed economic journals. Instead, he found his niche in public-facing writing and media. Live Events Navarro's animosity toward China developed gradually and came to dominate his economic thinking. It crystallised in his 2011 book 'Death by China', co-authored with Greg Autry. The book accused China of illegal export subsidies, currency manipulation and other forms of economic aggression that, according to Navarro, decimated American manufacturing. The book also argued that China's economic rise posed a fundamental threat to the US, not just economically, but also geopolitically. In 2012, Navarro directed and produced a documentary version of 'Death by China', further cementing his role as one of the most strident China critics in US public discourse. His sharp rhetoric and alarmist tone earned him praise from nationalists but raised eyebrows in the academic and policy communities. His views would remain on the fringe until 2016, when Donald Trump's rise transformed Navarro from an academic ideologue to a powerful policymaker. Navarro was brought into Trump's orbit after Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, came across 'Death by China' on Amazon. Intrigued by its thesis, Kushner contacted Navarro, eventually inviting him to join the Trump campaign. In the first Trump administration, he was made a trade advisor when he drafted aggressive trade policies designed to combat China's growing economic power. How Navarro shaped Trump's tariff policies During Trump's first term, Navarro served as Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. His influence was immense and often underestimated. He aligned early with populist figures like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, and was instrumental in crafting Trump's 'America First' trade policy. Navarro played a central role in initiating the China–US trade war, lobbying for sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, and advising the President on ways to reduce trade deficits. Navarro was a firm supporter of the United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act, which would have given the President broad powers to impose tariffs on foreign nations. Though the bill failed in Congress, Navarro's advocacy signaled a deeper shift in US economic policy, from free trade consensus to aggressive bilateralism. He was also behind proposals to restrict Chinese students from studying in the US, claiming it was a matter of national security. His tenure was marked by internal conflict. He frequently clashed with more moderate officials, especially Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The most dramatic instance came in May 2018, when Navarro and Mnuchin reportedly engaged in a heated shouting match on the lawn of a Chinese government building during trade negotiations. Navarro believed he was being sidelined and blamed Mnuchin for soft-pedaling the US stance. Navarro's rhetoric reached a diplomatic low point in June 2018, when he said there was 'a special place in hell' for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after Canada vowed retaliatory tariffs against the US. 'There's a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door," he said. Though he later apologised, the incident exemplified Navarro's inflammatory approach to international diplomacy. During Trump's second term, Navarro returned to the White House in a more powerful role as Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing. On Day One, he helped draft a sweeping trade policy memo that included reimposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports and instituting 'reciprocal tariffs' on imports from countries that impose tariffs on US goods. Navarro also succeeded in closing the de minimis duty exemption for imports from China, ending duty-free imports for packages under $800, a significant blow to Chinese e-commerce exporters. Navarro's hardline policies drew sharp criticism from both domestic and international actors, especially as they began to impact US corporations. His influence over Trump's increasingly isolationist trade strategy remains strong. When Navarro fabricated an expert in his books Navarro's career has been marred by a series of controversies, both personal and political. Perhaps the most bizarre of Navarro's controversies was the revelation that he had invented a fictitious expert, 'Ron Vara,' whom he quoted extensively in at least six of his books. Ron Vara was described as a Harvard-educated economist and a fierce China critic, an apparent mouthpiece for Navarro's most extreme anti-China views. In reality, Ron Vara was an anagram of Navarro's own last name. The hoax was exposed by the 'Chronicle of Higher Education', which found no record of any such person. Navarro admitted to fabricating the character, referring to him as a humorous 'literary device,' but critics saw it as deceptive and unethical. China's Foreign Ministry used the incident to dismiss Navarro's credibility, accusing him of 'smearing China with lies'. In April, Navarro had a public feud with Elon musk, by then a close Trump advisor. Navarro on CNBC dismissed a push by Musk for zero tariffs between the US and Europe, calling him a "car assembler" reliant on imported parts, and said he wanted the parts to be manufactured locally in the US. "Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false," Musk said in a post on X in a response to a video clip of Navarro's interview. "Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks." Musk also ridiculed Navarro's use of Ron Vara as an expert source. The feud highlighted growing divisions within the Trump administration between pro-business technocrats like Musk and economic nationalists like Navarro. Navarro also became embroiled in the fallout of the 2020 election. A vocal supporter of Trump's efforts to overturn the results, Navarro refused to comply with two congressional subpoenas in 2022 regarding his involvement. As a result, he was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress. Convicted and sentenced to four months in prison, Navarro served time before reentering public life during Trump's return to power. To his supporters, Navarro is a patriot who stood up to China and reshaped American trade policy in a way that protected US industries. To his critics, he is an ideologue who brought fringe economics into the mainstream, weakened alliances, and damaged the global trade system. Despite his controversies, Navarro has continued to shape American policy under Trump's second term. Navarro is not merely a policy advisor. He is a symbol of a broader ideological shift within American politics: away from globalism and toward protectionism, populism, and economic confrontation.
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Top Trump aide says Britain is now a 'servant of communist China' and will soon be 'sucked dry' by Beijing
The man who masterminded Donald Trump 's tariffs regime says Britain is now a 'compliant servant of communist China ' that faces having its 'blood sucked' by leaders in Beijing. Economist Peter Navarro's influence on the President has helped redraw the boundaries of global trade over the past month. Navarro is known for his hostility towards China and claims that, in the face of overwhelming US tariffs of 145 per cent against the Asian superpower, the Chinese may turn their attentions towards the UK. 'If the Chinese vampire can't suck the American blood, it's going to suck the UK blood and the EU blood,' he told The Telegraph. Navarro said the present moment was 'a very dangerous time for the world economies' in terms of their exposure to Chinese money. He added: 'And let's face it, the UK has been an all too compliant servant of the Chinese Communist Party because of the string-laden gifts that China gives as a way of spreading its soft power.' The decision by China's Jingye Steel to shutter the Scunthorpe steel works has reinforced fears about the Chinese government's power in the UK. The UK government has now taken control of the Scunthorpe site and senior figures inside the Labour Party have urged the government to carry out a full review of Chinese investment in critical UK infrastructure and industry. Office for National Statistics data suggests Chinese investment in the UK in 2023 totaled around £4.3billion - only a tiny percentage of the £2 trillion overseas investment in the British economy in that year. However, experts believe that is a significant underrepresentation of the Chinese position since the data focuses on the source of the immediate investment and now where the money ultimately comes from. Navarro has rocketed to notoriety over the last month as President Trump's economic adviser and the man behind Donald Trump's tariff levies on nations around the world. He originally began interacting with Trump's team in 2011 and was recruited to be economic policy adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign after the President's son-in-law Jared Kushner saw his book Death by China on Amazon. Both the chancellor Rachel Reeves and foreign secretary David Lammy have visited China in the name of what the Starmer administation has dubbed 'pragmatic re-engagement' with the Chinese government. It has been suggested that Mr Navarro's anti-China stance could complicate attempts to forge a new trade deal between the UK and their transatlantic partners. However, the economist said that the trade discussions were 'moving in Trump time, which is to say as swiftly as possible'. He warned that the UK and Europe needed to remain 'very vigilant about becoming dumping grounds for the products that China would otherwise sell to America.'
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jim Cramer Backs CVS Health Corporation (CVS): 'Crushing It—Only Drugstore Left Standing with Aetna in Its Corner'
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discussed. In his latest appearance on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer highlighted the often-overlooked role of currency fluctuations and explained why a weaker U.S. dollar might actually benefit American companies: 'The tariffs are going to be offset by the weak dollar. People forget that. And weak dollar's good. We have a lot of people who work at the network who think weak dollar's bad. I don't know where they get that, because if you listen to a conference call, the weak dollar could save us from the tariffs.' READ ALSO: Jim Cramer's List of 16 Stocks to Buy Right Now and . As the conversation shifted toward geopolitical risks and the strategic rivalry with China, Cramer referenced the book Death by China to illustrate fears about China's technological dominance and the potential consequences for U.S. national security: 'Look, in 2011, I got Death by China. When you stop, and the book is about Navarro, and it's basically about World War III. He doesn't mention that. I'm adding that. Graham Allison talks about World War III. He was one of my professors. So, hey, listen up. You can't even, so it's not even stock right now, but Death by China just talks about their grand plan to take us over. And when you go back and read it, it's more cogent than you thought. It's like Ghost Ship, which is one that Mark Benioff gave me about how our Navy eventually is going to be made of all Chinese chips and we go to use it against the Chinese and nothing happens.' While discussing the increasing competition between American and Chinese companies, Jim Cramer re-affirmed his position that the U.S. is still very much ahead of China, saying: 'I think that there should be a great competition and real arms race. We shouldn't be helping them and let's see who wins. […] Look, I think that we're unbelievably great. We're well ahead in scale. I don't trust the Chinese. I would never want to use their stuff because I think that they would in the end be, you'd be captive to that regime. I think that we're still ahead.' To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down the stocks he mentioned during CNBC's Squawk on the Street aired on April 16th. For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A row of shelves in a retail pharmacy, demonstrating the variety of drugs and over-the-counter Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) was mentioned by Cramer, who predicted the company would raise guidance thanks to its strong performance: 'You know who's going to raise? Yeah. CVS. They are crushing it. CVS is going to raise. I got CVS. ' CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) is a diversified healthcare company that operates a large pharmacy chain, provides health insurance through Aetna, and offers pharmacy benefit management services via CVS Caremark. The day before, Jim Cramer has also outlined his bullish position on the stock, saying: 'Have you noticed that CVS stock keeps going up because they've got Aetna and they're also the only drugstore left, right? Walgreens closing, going to close a lot of stores. […] And Rite Aid's closing stores, that leaves CVS.' 'The health insurers are all roaring too. Why? Because they're domestic, very hard to tariff and they can go much higher if you want to avoid the tariff shroud. CVS, which owns Aetna, moved up against Cigna's running.' Overall, CVS ranks 10th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discussed. While we acknowledge the potential of CVS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CVS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
