Peter Navarro Walks Back Statement Implying Trade Deal With China Is “Over”

In an interview on Monday, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro says the trade deal with China is “over,” then later walked back the statement.  

When asked about the trade agreement, Navarro pointed to Washington’s anger over Beijing not sounding the alarm earlier about the coronavirus outbreak.  Navarro also said the “turning point” came when the United States learned about the spreading coronavirus only after a Chinese delegation had left Washington following the signing of the Phase 1 deal on January 15.

“It was at a time when they had already sent hundreds of thousands of people to this country to spread that virus, and it was just minutes after wheels up when that plane took off that we began to hear about this pandemic,” Navarro said.

Later, after stock market futures dropped more than 400 points, Navarro claimed his comments were taken “wildly out of context.”

“My comments have been taken wildly out of context. They had nothing at all to do with the Phase I trade deal, which continues in place.  I was simply speaking to the lack of trust we now have of the Chinese Communist Party after they lied about the origins of the China virus and foisted a pandemic upon the world,” Navarro said in a statement.

Monday night, President Trump confirmed that the deal was still intact.