To combat the impact of Covid-19, the US studies scenarios from the 9/11 event

President Trump's team at the White House is urgently looking for solutions to support the economy. Photo: Independent

With 1,762 infections and 41 deaths, the Covid-19 epidemic is becoming a top health concern in the US, leading to drastic measures by the government, including a ban on all travel from Europe for a month, starting tonight (US time). In this context, senior aides to US President Donald Trump and the US Treasury Department are urgently studying measures to "save" the country's economic sectors from the growing impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

While tax cuts or direct cash injections are options, the immediate option is to reduce or defer taxes for affected industries. Senior aides hope to avoid a full-blown bailout like the one used during the 2008 financial crisis to rescue the banking sector.

Earlier, in a speech in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump also mentioned this measure. Accordingly, the President used his authority in an emergency situation to request the Treasury to delay tax payments for businesses and individuals affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. Mr. Donald Trump explained that this step could create an additional source of liquidity worth about 200 billion USD for the economy, increasing the ability to respond to the risk of economic recession.

The White House’s discussions on a corporate bailout are separate from the ongoing discussions among lawmakers on direct aid to workers. In recent weeks, as the Covid-19 pandemic has spread globally, the White House has held meetings with industry leaders to hear about the growing pains they face. President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence have split the meetings between leaders from the airline, insurance, health care, banking, pharmaceutical industries, and more.

But according to Stephen Moore, who served as an adviser to Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, the White House's current dilemma is how to find the sectors that "deserve the most help," while industries such as aviation, transportation, hotels, entertainment, etc. - the sectors that provide the most jobs for American society - are all facing many difficulties due to disruptions in the supply chain.

Senior aides to President Donald Trump are closely studying how the Bush administration supported the airline industry after the September 11, 2001 attacks to figure out how to respond now, but they will continue to closely monitor and analyze the impact on the industry in the coming days before the White House announces any economic relief package.