Normally, we would not do CNBC interviews or roll out a blog post on the eve of Christmas, New Year’s celebrations and the end of the year “dead time” in the office.  But our friends in Washington DC are continuing to make trade and trade policy too interesting to ignore.  The latest is the elevation of Peter Navarro to a newly created post of trade “czar” in the White House.  Navarro started life as a fairly normal Harvard-trained economist, but has gained a reputation as an economic nationalist and a strident anti-China proponent. The terms may sound too strong.  Watch the opening 30 seconds of his video documentary in which he urges viewers to “defend America and protect your family”  by not buying Chinese products.  The film is called “Death by China:  How America Lost Its Manufacturing Base.”