Peter Navarro, one of President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers, excoriated China‘s response to the coronavirus outbreak Sunday, accusing the country of hiding the virus from the world and subsequently taking down the American economy.
Navarro stopped short of claiming that it was the Chinese’s intention to harm the American economy, but did accuse the country of being unable to contain the outbreak and of misleading other nations about its severity.
“I did not say they deliberately did it, but their China virus — let’s go over the facts here, correct me if I’m wrong — the virus was spawned in Wuhan Province, patient zero was in November. The Chinese, behind the shield of the World Health Organization for two months, hid the virus from the world, and then sent hundreds of thousands of Chinese on aircraft to Milan, New York and around the world to seed that,” Navarro claimed, without offering evidence such travel was directed by the Chinese government.
“They could have kept it in Wuhan, instead, it became a pandemic,” he continued. “So that’s why I say the Chinese did that to Americans and they are responsible now.”
Navarro, who holds the title of director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, has led the administration’s efforts to procure medical supplies and protective equipment during the pandemic.
In late January, Navarro was among the first advisers in the White House to sound the alarm about the potential seriousness of the coronavirus, writing a memo in which he noted that “the lack of immune protection or an existing cure or vaccine would leave Americans defenseless,” and that an outbreak could evolve into “a full-blown pandemic.”
On ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, Navarro argued that, despite widespread criticism to the contrary, the Trump administration was engaging with the spreading pandemic throughout the month of February, shortly after he penned that memo, pointing to Trump’s decision to halt travel from China — a move Navarro personally advised.
But given his critiques of China, he was questioned by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos why, during that same period when the virus was spreading from the country, Trump was complimentary of Chinese President Xi Jinping as he continued to negotiate a trade deal.
“It was President Trump who was praising China all through the month of February, and, you know, there’s a lot of evidence that those lost weeks made a difference,” Stephanopoulos said.
“First of all, I think it’s great that we have a president that can get along with all world leaders,” Navarro responded. “But number two, there’s no lost weeks. … We were moving on three vectors of attack in February: vaccine development, development of therapeutics like Remdesivir, and the building up and capacity for things like N95 masks.”
“And the work we did throughout February has born beautiful fruit here in this spring,” Navarro continued, pointing to the vaccine development push announced Friday, and continued production and distribution of treatments and supplies.
Among those vocal in opposition to the administration’s February outlook has been presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. When asked about the former vice president’s accusation that the White House “squandered critical time” and is now “play(ing) the China card” to distract from its initial efforts, or lack thereof, to combat the outbreak, Navarro condemned Biden’s work during the Obama administration and repeated a misleading claim about his son’s business dealings.
“I do think this election is going to be a referendum in many ways on China,” he said. “So we’ll have Joe Biden, long friend of China. President Donald J. Trump, the only president in modern history to stand up to China.”
Domestically, in recent days, Navarro has become a figure in the Dr. Rick Bright whistleblower controversy. Bright, the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, who claims he was pushed out of his position, in part, for raising issues with the Trump administration’s pursuit of unproven coronavirus treatments, mentioned Navarro multiple times in his whistleblower complaint, writing that he “shared Dr. Bright’s concerns about the potential devastation the United States would face,” and spoke out about the nation’s preparedness.
But the White House declined an invitation for Navarro to appear Thursday at a congressional hearing about Bright’s complaints on his behalf, and on “This Week” he continued his recent public criticisms of the doctor’s actions.
“It’s an American tragedy, George. This guy is quite talented, but he was asked to be the field commander over at NIH to storm the testing hill with a billion dollars behind him. Instead of accepting that mission, he deserted,” Navarro said Sunday. “He went into a fox hole, wrote up the complaint, and now he’s part of a Capitol Hill partisan circus where he’s just become another pawn in the game.”
“And the tragedy, George, is this man has talent. He’s a smart man,” he told Stephanopoulos. “We could have used him on the battlefield. He’s not there now. And it was because of the decisions that he made.”
And while he noted the issue was outside of his “lane,” Navarro also commented on Trump’s firing of the State Department’s inspector general Friday — a controversial move already facing an inquiry led by congressional Democrats said they believe the dismissal could have been retaliatory and potentially illegal.
“There’s a bureaucracy out there. And there’s a lot of people in that bureaucracy who think that they got elected president, not Donald J. Trump,” Navarro said, after first claiming the firing was within the president’s “legal authority” on Sunday. “And we’ve had tremendous problems with, you know, some people call it the ‘deep state.’ I think that’s apt.”
“So I don’t mourn the loss of people when they leave this bureaucracy,” he continued. “There’s always going to be somebody better to replace them, somebody more loyal — not to the president necessarily, but to the Trump agenda. That’s what’s important.”
Navarro also reacted to the fifth economic stimulus bill passed by the House of Representatives on Friday — which is unlikely to make it through the Republican-controlled Senate and to Trump’s desk — pointing to the earlier “fiscal and monetary stimulus … coursing through the system now” and saying only, “we may need more.”
“Fed(eral Reserve) Chairman (Jerome) Powell says we do need more,” Stephanopoulos said in response.
“Well, what I’m focused on, George — and this is the real key to success — is going to be the structural adjustments we’re going to have to make,” Navarro responded. “For every service sector job we might loss as we adjust to this … we’re going to have replace that with manufacturing jobs, which do have a high multiplier in terms of creating service sector jobs again.”
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OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
