Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, on Monday said additional tariffs on China should absolutely be on the table, saying the country “lied” about the scope of the coronavirus and needs to be held accountable.
“Tariffs absolutely have to be on the table, and we’re going to need even more,” Mr. Hawley said on “Fox and Friends.”
Mr. Hawley has offered legislation to strip China of its sovereign immunity and allow individual Americans to sue for coronavirus-related damages. The bill also opens the door for an international commission to investigate the country’s handling of the virus.
President Trump on Sunday had demurred when asked about imposing additional tariffs on China as punishment.
“China should pay — Beijing should pay,” Mr. Hawley said. “They did nothing to stop it — in fact, they actively lied. They concealed. And now we know why — they were stockpiling their own equipment, their own protective gear.”
The coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, China, late last year and has since spread to infect more than 3.5 million people around the globe, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that there’s “enormous evidence” that the virus originated in a nearby virology lab and not from a “wet market,” which had been the generally accepted origin point.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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