The Trump administration is monitoring the U.S. economic impact of the coronavirus and thus far the belief is it will only modestly impact growth, according to The Washington Post.
The review is being discussed among the White House Economic Council and the Council for Economic Advisers and preliminary estimates are 0.2 percentage points, two sources told the Post.
The numbers are in line with public estimation of a modest impact of the virus that has originated in China and led to travel restrictions and canceled flights, the Post reported.
Among the Trump economists speaking publicly, per the Post:
- White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow says impact will be "minimal."
- Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross anticipates the outbreak in China "will help" lure companies to move business to the U.S. and Mexico.
- Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida called coronavirus a "wild card," particularly if it is contained by the middle of the year.
"You need something that would cause greater uncertainty such that businesses postpone making new investments and consumers stay home," New York economist Chris Rupkey told the Post. "It'd have to be a much bigger health scare than we've seen. It hasn't reached the magnitude of a true crisis that could put the brakes on growth."
China's impact is far more significant, both health and economically speaking. There have been 14,000 coronavirus cases and 250 have died, all in China, according to the report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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