Trump Threat to Skip Debt Payments and Impose Tariffs on China
Evan Vucci/AP
We ran the numbers: There are 2196 news articles covering this topic. 35% (775) are left leaning, 44% (976) center, 20% (445) right leaning.
Wall Street tumbled on Friday after Trump threatened to impose new tariffs against China in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought global economies to a halt. While left-leaning articles highlight that discussion by Trump’s administration to cancel part of its debt obligations to China, right-leaning articles highlight the concern that the coronavirus leaked out of a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
The Washington Post published a left-leaning article highlighting that administration officials have discussed having the United States cancel part of its debt obligations to China. The Peterson Institute for International Economics President Adam Posen said it would be legally impossible for the administration to only default on some of the federal government’s debt obligations.
Reuters published a centrist article reporting that Trump and his administration was crafting retaliatory measures against China as punishment for the coronavirus outbreak, sparking tariff fears that rattled markets. A new round of dismal economic data, including a disappointing report from Amazon.com, also weighed on sentiment.
A right-leaning article by The Washington Examiner reports that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed that the U.S. intelligence community is investigating whether the coronavirus leaked out of a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The White House also ordered intelligence agencies to investigate whether China and the World Health Organization worked together to hide early information about the coronavirus.
From the left
The Finance 202: Trump officials spook economists with talk of skipping debt payments to China
Washington Post