rightwing agitator who saw China as a threat to American supremacy. When Trump ran for president in 2016, he adopted Navarro’s ideas, appointing him to his administration and launching a trade war with China. Navarro was in his element. “I am the only economist in the world who knows how to fight China,” he told me, before outlining his plan to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods, a move he said would bring China to its knees. But the trade war was a disaster. American farmers suffered as China retaliated by imposing tariffs on US agricultural products, while American consumers ended up paying more for goods. By the time Trump left office in 2020, Navarro’s predictions of a booming domestic manufacturing sector had not materialised. “I was shouting from the rooftops,” Navarro told me, “but nobody listened.”Today, as Navarro prepares to return to the EOP, the debate around trade is more complex than ever. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains, prompting many countries to rethink their dependence on overseas suppliers. The rise of China as a global economic power has fuelled concerns about national security and intellectual property theft. And the backlash against globalisation and neoliberalism has led to calls for a more inclusive form of capitalism that benefits all, not just the wealthy few.Navarro’s return to the White House is a symbol of these shifting tides. Whether his protectionist views will prevail in the long run remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the era of Ricardo is over, and a new chapter in the history of trade is unfolding.\”
