Fight virus with eased tariffs, expert says

Containing the novel coronavirus outbreak is in the common interest of both the United States and China and it would be an appropriate gesture to reduce or eliminate tariffs in the wake of the virus' impact, said Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, known as the USCBC.

"Probably the best way to keep the epidemic out of the United States is to support efforts in China," Allen told China Daily, with the virus having killed 563 people in China, with 2,987 new cases reported in Central China's Hubei province on Wednesday. Twelve cases also have been confirmed in the US, the latest reported in Wisconsin on Wednesday.

Some members of the USCBC, which represents about 200 US companies that do business with China, have donated anti-viral medicines and equipments and other materials to institutions in China, Allen said.

"Our companies recognize that assisting and supporting the Chinese government with regard to combating this virus is in our common interest," he added.

Minnesota-based Cargill, which employs 10,000 people in 50 locations in China, has pledged nearly $300,000 to relief efforts through the Chinese Red Cross, while 3M, another USCBC member, donated medical supplies such as respirators, surgical masks and hand sanitizers in affected areas in China, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on Tuesday.

No US employees in the USCBC member companies in China have contracted the virus, but there are a few confirmed cases among their Chinese colleagues, Allen said, adding that there was no panic among the US companies.

Allen, who was the senior commercial officer at the US embassy in Beijing during the 2003 SARS(severe acute respiratory syndrome) episode, said he believed the Chinese government has learned the lessons of that outbreak, and has reacted vigorously to the current event.

He said it is correct for China to take "draconian, strict, large-scale, no-compromise" measures to contain a new virus "of which we know very little". The unprecedented moves include postponing the spring semesters of schools and putting Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic with a population of more than 10 million, in lockdown.

"I am hopeful that as the very strict measures led to the elimination of SARS, that the strict measures that the Chinese government is making now will be enough to resolve the problem," he said.

On Jan 30, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed sympathy for the coronavirus victims, but described it as presenting a possible economic opportunity in that it would probably facilitate the return of jobs.

Allen said it is unlikely that a lot of jobs are going to return as a result of the virus. Most of the work that is being done in Hubei is labor intensive, so even if companies consider moving, they likely would not come to the US.

"We should have nothing but encouragement to our Chinese friends as they fight a deadly, which does not respect borders. Now is not the time to think about competitive advantage. Now it's the time to defeat a common enemy," he said.

The viral outbreak highlights the fact that many of the major problems that the US and China face are global ones, such as pandemics, terrorism, money laundering, hacking and climate change, which require the two to work together.

"These are areas that the US and China should work together. If the US and China don't work together on these real subjects that affect real American citizens and real Chinese citizens, then those problems cannot be resolved," he said.