U.S. President Trump said Tuesday that he must confront China on trade issues, even if it would cause short-term damage to the U.S. economy, because Beijing has been cheating the U.S. for decades.
"Somebody has to deal with China," he told reporters during a visit to the White House by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. "This is something that must be done. The only difference is that I'm doing it.
"China has been taking advantage of this country for 25 years, or even longer. Now is the time to take action, whether it is good for our country or bad for our country in the short term. In the long run, someone has to do it, "he said.
Fears that the U.S. economy might slip into recession weighed heavily on financial markets last week and seemed to make government officials uneasy about whether the economy could survive the presidential election in November 2020.
The Democratic Party pointed out Sunday that Trump's trade policy posed significant short-term risks. U.S. stocks fell sharply last week on fears of a recession, with the three major stock indexes closing down about 3% on Wednesday before recovering their losses on Friday.
Trump, who is seeking re-election, is again trying to allay fears of a recession, saying, "We are still far from recession."
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