President-elect Donald Trump has named a fierce critic of China, economist Peter Navarro, to lead a newly created White House trade council.
The University of California-Irvine professor, who advised Trump during the campaign, will serve as head of the new White House National Trade Council and as director of trade and industrial policy.
In a statement, the Trump transition team said the creation of the council “demonstrates the president-elect’s determination to make American manufacturing great again.”
Trump says China’s unfair trade practices are responsible for wiping out American factory jobs and has threatened to impose taxes on Chinese imports. U.S. manufacturers have cut 5 million jobs since 2000.
Navarro, author of “Death By China,” also endorses a hard line approach toward relations with China.