Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday the coronavirus adds to a long list of health crises in China that may prompt businesses to redirect jobs to the U.S. and other parts of North America.
Mr. Ross was speaking the Fox Business Network about the “Wuhan” coronavirus that’s killed about 170 people amid 7,700 confirmed cases in China.
“Every American’s heart has to go out to the victims of the coronavirus. So I don’t want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease,” Mr. Ross said. “But the fact is it does give businesses yet another thing to consider when they go through their review of their supply change, on top of all the other things — you had SARS, you have the African swine virus there, now you have this. It’s another risk factor that people need to take into account.”
“So I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America — some to U.S., probably some to Mexico as well,” Mr. Ross said.
It’s true that U.S. companies are bracing for the business impact of the virus on Chinese operations, though Mr. Ross’ suggestion that the U.S. could benefit in some way from the epidemic raised eyebrows.
Ron Klain, who served as President Barack Obama’s “Ebola czar,” tweeted it was “perhaps the worst comment ever by a government official about an epidemic.”
He said it contrasted with Health Secretary Alex Azar’s “wise steps” in dealing with the virus.
Mr. Trump frequently rails against companies that decide to set up shop in China instead of the U.S., as he seeks the upper hand in ongoing trade negotiations.
Yet Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said the U.S. wants to help China deal with the virus — not gain leverage over it.
“This is not about trade, jobs or any of that,” he told White House reporters.
Mr. Trump says he’s working closely with Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop the coronavirus, which has become a global health scare.
Tens of millions of Chinese residents are on lockdown and thousands of passengers are reportedly being held on a cruise ship off Italy, as officials test for a case.
Also, the U.S. and other countries are evacuating their nationals from hotspots in China.
About 80 cases outside of China have been reported in 18 countries.
The White House said Mr. Trump formed a task force to coordinate the response to the coronavirus. It’s been meeting daily since Monday.
Led by Mr. Azar, the task force includes experts from several agencies.
“The task force will lead the administration’s efforts to monitor, contain, and mitigate the spread of the virus while ensuring that the American people have the most accurate and up-to-date health and travel information,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said. “The risk of infection for Americans remains low, and all agencies are working aggressively to monitor this continuously evolving situation and to keep the public informed.”
Mr. Trump, as a private citizen, frequently railed against President Obama’s reluctance to stop flights from West Africa during the Ebola outbreak of 2014.
So far, he has not suggested a ban on flights from China.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway declined to get ahead of the task force’s decision-making in a press briefing Thursday, praising efforts to evacuate about 200 Americans from China via Anchorage, Alaska.
Brett Giroir, an assistant health secretary, said besides repatriation, the U.S. is screening passengers for the coronavirus at airports.
“This is an all hands on deck effort,” Mr. Giroir said. “This is no cause for urgent panic in any way in the United States. This is currently under control, but this is really a rapidly changing, dynamic event.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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