Did Trump’s Trade Adviser Peter Navarro Make Up A Fake Expert For His Books?

Last Updated:August 29, 2025, 16:57 IST

Navarro’s books often quoted an expert named Ron Vara. The only catch: Vara never existed

Peter Navarro is Donald Trump’s chief trade adviser (Reuters Image)

Peter Navarro, the White House’s Senior Counsellor for Trade and Manufacturing and a key architect of President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy, has renewed his criticism of India amid the 50 per cent duties Washington has imposed on Indian exports. His remarks come at a time of increased tensions in the US–India relationship, and are drawing political and public scrutiny both in Washington and in New Delhi.

Navarro has accused India of providing a “financial lifeline” to Vladimir Putin by ramping up oil imports from Russia since the Ukraine war began. In recent statements, he claimed Indian refiners were “flipping black-market oil for big profits” and had turned India into an “oil money laundromat for the Kremlin.” He added that the road to peace in Ukraine “runs through New Delhi,” and went so far as to call the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war.”

But as Navarro’s criticism of India sharpens, an older controversy surrounding his own credibility has resurfaced, one involving a fictional expert named Ron Vara, whom Navarro quoted across multiple books and policy arguments for nearly two decades.

The Expert Who Never Existed: Meet Ron Vara

Ron Vara was introduced in at least five of Navarro’s books, often positioned as a Harvard-trained war veteran and investment expert with sharp takes on China. He was quoted saying things like, “You’ve got to be nuts to eat Chinese food,” and “Only the Chinese can turn a leather sofa into an acid bath.” His comments lent a sense of urgency, and expertise, to Navarro’s anti-China arguments.

But in 2019, Australian academic Tessa Morris-Suzuki found no trace of Vara in any public or academic records. The mystery was solved when it was revealed that “Ron Vara” was, in fact, an anagram of ‘Navarro’, a fictional character created by the author himself. Navarro admitted to inventing Vara and described him as a “whimsical device,” comparing the character to Alfred Hitchcock’s cameos in his own films.

The publisher of Death by China later added a disclaimer. Greg Autry, Navarro’s co-author, called Vara an “inside joke.” Critics, however, pointed out that Vara had not only been cited in books presented as serious economic work, but also reportedly in memos circulated within policy circles.

From Fiction To The White House: How Ron Vara Entered Policy

Journalist Rachel Maddow brought the issue back into focus in April 2025, when she suggested that Trump’s reciprocal tariff policy may have been influenced by one such memo quoting Ron Vara. According to Maddow, the memo contained the phrase “Ride the tariffs to victory,” attributed to Vara.

Navarro joined the Trump campaign in 2016 after Jared Kushner read Death by China and brought him on board. Since then, he has helped shape the administration’s tariff playbook, first targeting China and now expanding to countries like India.

Navarro’s approach to trade policy has long relied on aggressive tariffs framed as national security tools. During Trump’s first term, he advocated duties not only on China but also on close US allies like Canada and Mexico.

Navarro’s Latest Swipe At India

In his latest remarks, Navarro accused India of fuelling Russia’s war effort by dramatically increasing its Russian oil imports, from under 1 per cent in 2021 to over 30 per cent by mid-2025. He claimed that Indian refiners are working with “silent Russian partners” and profiting off re-exported oil while enabling Russia to earn hard currency.

“American consumers buy Indian goods while India keeps out US exports through high tariffs and non-tariff barriers. India uses our dollars to buy discounted Russian crude… This surge isn’t driven by domestic demand—it’s driven by Indian profiteers,” Navarro said.

He further stated that India’s ‘Big Oil lobby’ has made the country a “refining hub for the Kremlin” and said Trump’s 50 per cent tariff was imposed as a national security move to cut off that flow. “If India wants to be treated like a strategic partner of the U.S., it needs to act like one,” he said.

However, critics pointed out that the US itself has continued energy and trade interactions with Russia. Reuters recently reported that during the Alaska Summit and envoy-level visits, Washington discussed several energy-linked proposals with the Kremlin, including potential equipment supplies for Russia’s Arctic LNG-2 project.

Indian Political Pushback: ‘Wake Up To The Same Rant’

Navarro’s pointed remarks have drawn rebuttals in India. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi criticised him for labelling the Russia-Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war” and for accusing India of acting against the US-led global trade order.

In a series of posts on X, she wrote: “Fact check: Russia-Ukraine wasn’t and isn’t India’s war. Regarding Russian Oil, India isn’t the only one.” Taking aim at Navarro’s frequent remarks, she added: “Wake up every day to the same rant from him about India.”

Chaturvedi also hit back at Navarro’s earlier “Indians are arrogant” remark, saying: “Can gauge Peter Navarro’s state of mind after hearing his angry outburst against India and Indians for not signing up to the US’ idea of a trade deal.”

She added that it was “unfortunate” that the current US administration had failed to recognise the value of the strategic partnership it had invested in with India. “The only ones benefiting from these unilateral tariffs,” she wrote, “are those forces antithetical to democracies and the rules-based order.”

Satire Or Strategy?

The Ron Vara episode also briefly returned to public discourse earlier this year after Navarro criticised Tesla’s manufacturing model in a CNBC interview. Elon Musk responded on social media, calling Navarro’s claims “demonstrably false” and sarcastically suggesting he “ask the fake expert he invented, Ron Vara.” Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk, also urged President Trump to reconsider Navarro’s role.

Navarro, who holds a Harvard PhD and previously taught at the University of California, Irvine, has consistently downplayed the Ron Vara revelations. In a message to The New York Times, he joked: “As Ron Vara might say, ‘Lighten up and have fun reading the books.’”

About the Author

Karishma Jain

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar…Read More

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar… Read More

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