Washington – White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow today defended the aggressive negotiating style of President Donald Trump with China as the “status quo” harms the country and insisted that the meeting with President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Japan has not yet been “formalized”.
“We do not start this, what I will call the Chinese problem has been going on for a long time, but President Trump is the first in several decades to take decisive action to remedy a very unbalanced trade relationship in which China has violated international law.” Kudlow said at a conference at the Peterson Institute.
“The status quo hurts us,” he said.
In this regard, he indicated that the only way to persuade Beijing to reach an agreement with Washington is through the combative attitude of Trump and the pressure of tariffs imposed on Chinese imports.
“You know how we got from here to there? You kick some asses,” Kudlow said forcefully.
However, he insisted that the objective is that the solution to the dispute with China be “negotiated.”
Trump said Monday that if he does not meet with Xi in Japan he will go ahead with the threat of applying tariffs on Chinese imports worth 300 billion dollars.
Kudlow stressed that the planned meeting with Xi at the G20 summit at the end of the month in Japan “has not yet been formalized,” but that the “intention” is for both presidents to meet there.
Trump’s advisor acknowledged that the tariffs have “negative” effects for the US economy, although he pointed out that they are “small”, and pointed out that China is much more vulnerable in this trade war.
In May, President Trump has already raised taxes to Chinese imports worth 200 billion dollars to 25% before what he considered the lack of progress with Beijing to achieve a commercial commitment.
For its part, and in retaliation, the Chinese authorities imposed tariffs on US imports worth 60 billion dollars. (EFEUSA)
