China expected to retaliate, Trump likely to meet with Xi at G-20, Kudlow says
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday he expects China to retaliate against the U.S. after President Trump increased tariffs last week on Chinese goods.
“The expected countermeasures have not yet materialized,” Kudlow told “Fox News Sunday.” “We’ll see what they come up with. So far we haven’t heard on that basis.”
The U.S. increased tariffs Friday on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent after trade negotiators from both countries failed to come to an agreement. Additionally, Trump called for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to begin raising tariffs on “essentially all remaining imports from China, which are valued at approximately $300 billion.”
The president told reporters last week that the tariffs would be paid for “mostly” by China, though Kudlow said Sunday that “both sides will pay,” noting that the tariffs will cause China to suffer GDP losses as its export market diminishes. “Both sides will suffer on this,” Kudlow said.
He also said trade talks will continue, though there are no set plans yet, and the likelihood of Trump meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month during the G-20 summit in Japan is “pretty good.”
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In order for the U.S. to sign a trade deal with China, the White House economic adviser said Beijing must, in part, agree to stop stealing American intellectual property, end the practice of forced technology transfer and cyber intervention and fix tariff and non-tariff barriers.
“Things seem to be taking too long and we can’t accept any backtracking,” Kudlow said. “We don’t think the Chinese have come far enough. We will wait and see.”