US to Keep Tariffs Despite the Possibility of China’s Economy Being Hurt from Coronavirus

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said on Wednesday that the U.S. would not remove tariffs on Chinese products even if the economy takes a hit from the coronavirus that already claimed 170 lives in China.

 

“That’s a spin that’s coming right out of Wall Street, and it really, I think, it does a disservice to this whole crisis to bring that into the discussion,” responded Navarro to CNBC when asked whether a tariff rollback was on the table if China was abiding by the terms of the “Phase One” trade deal that was signed earlier this month but its economy started to slide from the coronavirus.

China has extended its holiday on the Lunar New Year to the beginning of next week to avoid contagion of the virus while other foreign companies also close their office for safety.

“The tariffs are in place because China engages in massive unfair subsidies. They use their state-owned enterprises to put American companies and workers out of business,” said Navarro. “And the tariffs also ensure that we come back for phase two.”

After the signing of Phase One trade deal the U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington would leave tariffs on for the time being, but would agree to take those tariffs off if the U.S. and China were able to complete the “Phase Two” deal.