White House advisor Peter Navarro has threatened retaliation against China for its role in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, CNBC reported.

“A bill has to come due for China,” Navarro said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “It’s not a question of punishing them, it’s a question of holding China accountable, the Chinese Communist Party accountable.”

“They inflicted tremendous damage on the world which is still ongoing,” Navarro said. “We’re up to close to $10 trillion we’ve had to appropriate to fight this battle.”

Trade talks between the two countries were complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic after the first phase of the trade deal entered into force in February. The deal requires China to increase purchases of US goods, including agricultural products, by $ 200 billion over two years.

However - in addition to lowering global demand - the public health crisis has spawned a war of words between the two countries that seek to blame each other.

Last Thursday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed an agreement with Chinese Deputy PM Liu He. Three officials agreed to begin the implementation of the first phase, “in spite of the current global health emergency.”