President Donald Trump is meeting with his top trade advisors at the White House amid a slew of tweets that, among other things, characterized China President Xi Jinping as an “enemy” and ordered U.S. companies to begin looking for alternatives to China, according to CNBC’s Eamon Javers, citing a source familiar.
The president tweeted Friday morning that we was ordering “our great American companies” to “immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.”
Trade advisors and known China hawks Peter Navarro and Robert Lighthizer were spotted just outside the Oval Office moments before the president tweeted this.
The social media posts roiled financial markets, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 450 points or about 1.75%. The S&P 500 slid 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2%.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
