Days before a deadline to impose more tariffs on China amid trade talks, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro is circulating a pro-tariff memo under the name "Ron Vara," according to CNBC.
CNBC obtained the memo, which Navarro confirmed to The New York Times was written by him and sent from the "Ron Vara" email. Ron Vara are the letters of Navarro's last name rearranged.
There is a U.S. deadline Sunday to impose an additional 15% in tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese goods exported to the U.S., and Navarro states the "Keep Tariffs Argument" opposed to budging in talks with China on a phase one of a trade deal, according to the report.
Navarro's memo, rejecting the impact of tariffs on the economy and stock market, makes the case the White House should "get uncertainty out of the market by announcing no deal until after the election and ride the tariffs to victory."
Navarro has used the fictional Ron Vara character in his books as a "whimsical device and pen name I've used throughout the years for opinions and purely entertainment value, not as a source of fact," according to reports.
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