Quote:

---

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro warned in a late January memo the coronavirus could cost the United States trillions without a travel ban on China.

Navarro called for an immediate travel ban on China in the memo, dated January 29, that predicted a coronavirus pandemic would cost the United States over $3.8 trillion.

The details of the memo, which was first reported by the New York Times on Monday evening and later published in full by Axios, was addressed to the National Security Council just days before the president enacted his travel ban on China.

“The clear dominant strategy is an immediate travel ban on China,” Navarro wrote, noting the virus could cost as many as half a million American lives.

Navarro’s memo argued the financial cost of a travel ban with China would be minimal compared to the cost of doing nothing.

Donald Trump enacted his travel ban two days later, on January 31.

---