Stock markets around the world traded higher Tuesday after President Donald Trump and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro clarified that the China trade deal is not over.
Asian stocks and futures in Europe and the U.S. briefly plunged late Monday night after Navarro was asked about the trade deal in light of China’s handling of the coronavirus.
“Do you think that the president sort of, I mean, he obviously really wanted to hang onto this trade deal as much as possible. And he wanted them to make good on the promises because there had been progress made on that trade deal, but given everything that’s happened and all the things you just listed, is that over?” Fox News’ Martha MacCallum asked.
“It’s over. Yes,” Navarro said.
Markets across Asia immediately tanked and U.S. futures indicated a sharp decline in U.S. stock valuations.
Shortly afterwards, President Trump tweeted that the China trade deal is “fully intact.”
“My comments have been taken wildly out of context,” Navarro said in a statement to CNBC. “They had nothing at all to do with the Phase I trade deal, which continues in place.”
Navarro indicated that his remarks were about trust between the two nations following what the White House views as China’s dishonesty about the virus during crucial weeks when it first began to spread.
All of the major Asian stock indexes rebounded into positive territory. Stocks are trading higher across Europe, with Germany’s DAX up 2.62 percent at around 8 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
U.S. futures are also indicating an open into positive territory