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Trump threatens new tariffs on China in retaliation for coronavirus
ReutersMay 01, 2020
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US President Donald Trump made clear that his concerns about China’s role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus were taking priority for now over his efforts to build on an initial trade agreement with Beijing. — AP/File
United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday his hard-fought trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the coronavirus pandemic and he threatened new tariffs on Beijing, as his administration crafted retaliatory measures over the outbreak.
Trump’s sharpened rhetoric against China reflected his growing frustration with Beijing over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the US alone, sparked an economic contraction and threatened his chances of re-election in November.
Read: What is the birthplace of COVID-19? China, US at loggerheads over virus origin
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a range of options against China were under discussion, but cautioned that efforts were in the early stages. Recommendations have not yet reached the level of Trump’s top national security team or the president, one official told Reuters.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
“There is a discussion as to how hard to hit China and how to calibrate it properly,” one of the sources said as Washington walks a tightrope in its ties with Beijing while it imports personal protection equipment (PPE) from there and is wary of harming a sensitive trade deal.
Trump made clear, however, that his concerns about China’s role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus were taking priority for now over his efforts to build on an initial trade agreement with Beijing that long dominated his dealings with the world’s second-largest economy.
“We signed a trade deal where they’re supposed to buy, and they’ve been buying a lot, actually. But that now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus,” Trump told reporters. “The virus situation is just not acceptable.”
The Washington Post, citing two people with knowledge of internal discussions, reported on Thursday that some officials had discussed the idea of cancelling some of the massive US debt held by China as a way to strike at Beijing for perceived shortfalls in its candidness on the Covid-19 pandemic.
ReutersMay 01, 2020
Facebook Count
Twitter Share
25
US President Donald Trump made clear that his concerns about China’s role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus were taking priority for now over his efforts to build on an initial trade agreement with Beijing. — AP/File
United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday his hard-fought trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the coronavirus pandemic and he threatened new tariffs on Beijing, as his administration crafted retaliatory measures over the outbreak.
Trump’s sharpened rhetoric against China reflected his growing frustration with Beijing over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the US alone, sparked an economic contraction and threatened his chances of re-election in November.
Read: What is the birthplace of COVID-19? China, US at loggerheads over virus origin
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a range of options against China were under discussion, but cautioned that efforts were in the early stages. Recommendations have not yet reached the level of Trump’s top national security team or the president, one official told Reuters.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
“There is a discussion as to how hard to hit China and how to calibrate it properly,” one of the sources said as Washington walks a tightrope in its ties with Beijing while it imports personal protection equipment (PPE) from there and is wary of harming a sensitive trade deal.
Trump made clear, however, that his concerns about China’s role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus were taking priority for now over his efforts to build on an initial trade agreement with Beijing that long dominated his dealings with the world’s second-largest economy.
“We signed a trade deal where they’re supposed to buy, and they’ve been buying a lot, actually. But that now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus,” Trump told reporters. “The virus situation is just not acceptable.”
The Washington Post, citing two people with knowledge of internal discussions, reported on Thursday that some officials had discussed the idea of cancelling some of the massive US debt held by China as a way to strike at Beijing for perceived shortfalls in its candidness on the Covid-19 pandemic.
