Donald Trump's 104% China tariffs mystery decoded: Who and what are behind US President's bizarre announcement?

President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs on countries around the world, including a 104 percent increase in duties on China, bear the fingerprint of Peter Navarro, a Harvard-trained economist who has long warned against a rising Beijing, as per a report.

Saying Washington's trade deficit was a sign of unfair competition, Trump announced blanket 10 percent tariffs on countries and territories around the world last week, including islands inhabited only by penguins, AFP reported.

And nearly 60 economies face higher duties, including the over 100 percent tax on Chinese imports that took effect Wednesday after tit-for-tat tariffs between Beijing and Washington.


China will impose 84 percent tariffs on US imports, up from 34 percent, the finance ministry said Wednesday, hours after similar levies by the United States came into force. Beijing has consistently opposed tariff rises and said Wednesday it would take "firm and forceful" steps to protect its interests.

In a separate statement, Beijing's commerce ministry said it would blacklist six American artificial intelligence firms, including Shield AI Inc. and Sierra Nevada Corp. The companies had either sold arms to Taiwan or collaborated on "military technology" with the island, the commerce ministry said.

Who is Peter Navarro?

75-year-old Navarro has advised Trump since before the 2016 presidential election, when candidate Trump vowed to crack down on unfair trade practices he argued have destroyed American jobs and left once-mighty US cities a shadow of their former selves.

The economist's works include the documentary film, "Death by China: how America lost its manufacturing base," connected to his 2011 book showing China as a serial trade cheater, subsidizing export-oriented industries and manipulating its currency.

The consequences, including a harsh deindustrialization of the United States, demand a tough response to China, or the "Dragon," Navarro argued.

Navarro has since emerged as one of the president's most loyal aides, a controversial figure who defended Trump's campaign to deny the results of the 2020 presidential election that put Joe Biden in the White House.

FAQs

Q1. Who is President of USA?
A1. President of USA is Donald Trump.

Q2. Who are trusted advisers of President Donald Trump?
A2. Trusted advisers of President Donald Trump are Elon Musk, and Peter Navarro.