How a Fictional Economist Helped Shape U.S. Trade Policy

Meet "Ron Vara," the fictional Harvard-educated trade expert invented by Peter Navarro

Apr 09, 2025

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In one of the more bizarre chapters of recent American politics, it turns out that a key influence behind the Trump administration's tariff policies wasn’t a Nobel laureate or a seasoned economist — it was a completely fictional character.

Meet "Ron Vara," the fictional Harvard-educated trade expert invented by Peter Navarro, Donald Trump’s top trade adv…

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