[author: Laura Anne Schierhoff]

President-elect Donald Trump announced the creation of a new White House National Trade Council and appointed economist Peter Navarro to head up this new council. Mr. Navarro is a professor at University of California, Irvine and known for his strong stance against trading with China. He has advocated for a more aggressive stance on economic relations with China and written several books, including: “The Coming China Wars” and “Death by China: Confronting the Dragon – A Global Call to Action,” which was made into a documentary film. Mr. Navarro believes that globalism has benefited China and harmed the American economy. Trump’s transition team stated that the new National Trade Council’s goal is to make U.S. manufacturing great again and bring American jobs home. During Trump’s campaign and in his “100 Day Action Plan to Make American Great Again,” he promised to label China as a currency manipulator and aggressively enforce trade law violators. Critics of Trump’s appointment are concerned that curtailing trade with China would ultimately damage the American economy.