Peter Navarro, a trade advisor to former US President Donald Trump, has recently stirred controversy with his statements concerning India. On August 28th, Navarro labeled the Russia-Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war,” alleging that India was fueling the conflict by purchasing oil from Russia. On August 29th, he claimed that tariffs on India were necessary to curb financial aid to Putin’s war machine. Navarro’s criticisms extended further, with a statement on August 31st calling India a money-laundering machine for the Kremlin, alleging that Indian people were profiting from the expenses of Brahmins. These statements followed Navarro’s objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with Chinese and Russian leaders. Navarro’s background reveals he was born on July 15, 1949, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has been associated with Trump since the 2016 election campaign. Before his role as Trade Advisor, Navarro served as the Director of the White House National Trade Council during Trump’s first term. He is an economist with a diverse background, including three years of service in the US Army. Navarro’s father was a professional musician, and his mother worked as a secretary at Saks Fifth Avenue. He graduated from Tufts University in 1972 and joined the US Peace Corps. He served in Thailand from 1973 to 1976, during which he traveled to Laos, South Korea, Japan, India, Myanmar, and Malaysia. After his Peace Corps service, Navarro attended Harvard University, earning a master’s degree in public administration in 1979 and a PhD in economics in 1986. He taught at the University of California’s Paul Merage School of Business from 1989 for over two decades. He has written extensively on economic policy, trade, deregulation, and corporate behavior, authoring several books. He is recognized as an economist, author, and US trade strategist. Navarro’s book, “The Coming China Wars,” published in 2006, explored the threats posed by China’s economic and military rise. In 2024, he was sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress, becoming the first former White House official to be incarcerated on such charges, stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
