White House’s Navarro clarifies comments on China, trade

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro says his comments on China that sparked market reaction “had nothing at all to do with the Phase I trade deal, which continues in place.”

Full Navarro statement:

“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 was asked in a Fox News interview about the U.S. China trade deal and progress made on it.

From the transcript:

Martha MacCallum, Fox News: You know, when—do you think that the president sort of—I mean, he obviously really wanted to hang onto this trade deal as much as possible. And he wanted them to make good on the promises, because there had been progress made on that trade deal, but given everything that’s happened and all the things you just listed, is that over?

Navarro: It’s over. Yes.

Navarro is a noted China hawk and has been one of the sharpest voices in President Donald Trump’s ear urging a stiffer response toward Beijing.

Asian stocks and U.S. futures slid along with the yuan on Navarro’s Fox comment.