French Economy Minister Says US Decision to Ban Travel From Europe Caused Market Panic

PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2020) French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire on Friday described the decision by US President Donald Trump to temporarily ban travel from Europe over the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a mistaken one, stressing that such measures have provoked panic on the markets.

On Wednesday, President Trump banned entry beginning on Friday to the United States for people who have visited the Schengen area countries within the last two weeks. The ban will last 30 days and will cover 26 European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

"This is a is a misconception from the sanitary point of view, and this provokes political misconceptions and economic chaos, and this is what we have seen on the markets," Le Maire told the BFMTV channel.

He added that he had discussed the situation with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin earlier in the day, and both of them had lamented that decision.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in December, the international economy has been suffering a downturn due to the slowing down of economic activity in China, one of the world's economic powerhouses with ties to multiple markets across the globe. As a result, the stock markets took a nosedive on Monday amid COVID-19 fears, as well as the conflict between Russia and Saudi Arabia over the managing of the oil prices in the current economic environment.