US President Donald Trump swiftly shut down the suggestion that Washington would suspend tariffs for a quarter of a year amid the Covid-19 crisis, dubbing recent source-based reporting on the question as “fake news.”
Asked about a new ‘scoop’ in the Wall Street Journal blaring from its headline: “US plans to stop collecting import tariffs for three months,” the president dismissed the idea immediately, insisting it was not even on the table, and chastising Fox News correspondent John Roberts for the question.“Just more fake news, John. They’ve not even talked to me,” Trump said at Friday’s coronavirus briefing at the White House.
“Everyone keeps saying ‘Are you going to suspend the tariffs?’ The answer is no. President Xi never even brought it up last night,it wasn’t even discussed.”
It’s fake news. Tell the Wall Street Journal. You know, the Wall Street Journal does a lot of fake news, too, it’s pretty amazing.
Based on the word of anonymous “administration officials,” the Journal reported that the Trump administration would soon stop collecting import tariffs for three months, with companies liable for the fees at a later time. While the story acknowledged it “wasn’t immediately known” when the move would be announced, and noted the president could still “overrule” the plans, it appears that happened faster than expected, with Trump rejecting the idea out of hand at Friday’s briefing.
