Trump Weighs Restricting Non-Essential Travel From Europe
Trump Weighs Restricting Non-Essential Travel From Europe
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is weighing whether to restrict non-essential travel from Europe to the U.S. as the outbreak of coronavirus continues to spread on both continents, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The restrictions would include some business travel, according to one of the people, but it’s unclear how far ranging the limits would be.
The president will address the nation at 9 p.m. Washington time. He said he would announce decisions related to the U.S. response to the virus, including some related to Europe, where cases of the virus are increasing dramatically and deaths are mounting.
Trump is also considering invoking the Stafford Act, a law that unlocks emergency funds to help states and municipalities cope with a disaster. The measure could provide businesses access to disaster relief funds for efforts related to dealing with the outbreak, the people said.
Senate Democrats urged the president in a letter Wednesday to use the law to free up more than $40 billion.
Trump is also evaluating the exact shape of a payroll tax holiday he said he would propose to soften the economic fallout and market plunge. One of the president’s top advisers said they may propose suspending the payroll tax entirely -- a costly move, since the Congressional Budget Office estimates payroll taxes would bring in $1.3 trillion over the 2020 fiscal year.
| For more coverage |
|---|
|
“Temporarily eliminating the payroll tax for both workers and employers through the end of the year offers one of the clearest paths to a highly effective fiscal stimulus as we head toward that inevitable light at the end of the corona virus tunnel,” Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s trade advisers, said. “If enacted in full and promptly, the positive GDP growth impacts of the payroll tax cut has the potential to completely offset any of the negative growth effects of COVID-19.”
The S&P 500 closed Wednesday 19% lower than its February high, with every industry down at least 3.9% on the day.
Earlier Wednesday, some of the president’s advisers recommended that the U.S. raise its travel alert to Level 3 for the entire European Union, a move that would mean Americans should avoid everything but essential travel to the 27-nation bloc.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. has continued to rise. As of Wednesday, there were more than 1,100 cases in the U.S. and 30 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The World Health Organization earlier Wednesday declared the outbreak is now a pandemic and urged governments to step up containment efforts as the number of worldwide cases topped 123,000 and deaths exceeded 4,500.
The virus has spread particularly rapidly in Europe. In Italy, deaths jumped 31% in a single day, rising to 827 on Wednesday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, Bill Faries
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.