Coronavirus: Donald Trump threatens China with punitive taxes

Text by: RFI Follow

Donald Trump said on Thursday April 30 that he has evidence that the new coronavirus, responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic in the world, comes from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. The President could, therefore, impose new punitive "customs taxes" on China.

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The Covid-19 pandemic, the name of the coronavirus that first appeared in Hubei province in late 2019, has further damaged relations between the United States and China. In a speech to the press from the White House on Thursday April 30, President Donald Trump resumed diplomatic hostilities by linking this coronavirus again to a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. When asked if he had any evidence to make him seriously believe that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the virus, the head of state replied in the affirmative.

► Read also: China: Wuhan laboratory denies any responsibility for the appearance of the coronavirus

Trump disagrees with US intelligence

"  It was something that could have been contained in the original place, and I think it could have been contained very easy,  " said Donald Trump, who did not, however, specify what the evidence was. The president, a candidate for re-election in November and facing a new economic crisis linked to the pandemic, is considering a way to punish China. Asked about the possibility that the United States would not repay its debt to Beijing as a sanction, Donald Trump replied that he could do it "  otherwise  ", such as by "  imposing customs taxes  ", a method already used in 2019 in the  trade war between the United States and China .

The president's salvo comes just hours after a press release from American intelligence which, after investigation, came to the conclusion that "  the Covid-19 virus was not created by man or genetically modified  ", contrary to what that some rumors say. A position that Donald Trump does not seem to share. Since the beginning of the epidemic, the Republican has multiplied the accusations against China.

The new coronavirus has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide, according to a latest estimate as of April 30. Covid-19 is the deadliest in the United States, with 61,717 deaths and 1,054,261 cases.

(With AFP)

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