Donald Trump: US could use new tariffs on China as retaliatory measure over COVID-19 outbreak

The US could impose new tariffs on China as a retaliatory measure over the coronavirus outbreak which has infected more than 3 million people worldwide, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (local time).

He also pointed to an evidence linking the coronavirus to Chinese lab in Wuhan.

"I could do it differently, I could do the same thing but even for more money, just by putting on tariffs," Trump was quoted as saying by Sputnik in a press conference.

His response came on being asked if he would consider cancelling US debt obligations to China as punishment over the virus outbreak.

This comes after a CNN report said Trump administration was formulating a long-term plan to punish China on multiple fronts for the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump added that not paying debt obligations to China may hurt the value of the US dollar and that China appears to be trying to become more transparent with the United States over the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Sputnik.

Further, the US President said he has seen evidence linking the novel coronavirus to a lab in Wuhan, China. However, he refused to provide further details.

"Yes, I have. I think World Health Organisation should be ashamed of themselves because they are like the public relations agency for China," the US President said on being asked if he has seen anything that suggests the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China was the origin of COVID-19," he said.

According to a report in The Hill, Trump declined to answer later when pressed on what gave him such confidence to link the virus to the lab in China.

"I can't tell you that. I am not allowed to tell you that," Trump was quoted as saying.

(ANI)

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