Kudlow Contends Trump Right to Challenge China on Trade

With China imposing a new round of tariffs and fears of a trade war rising, White House economics adviser Larry Kudlow said Tuesday that President Donald Trump is taking an appropriately hard line.

Kudlow, who had criticized tariffs before Trump tapped him to be director of the White House National Economic Council, said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that China is a bad actor that must be confronted.

“I think the president really is the first guy in 20 years with the backbone to go after China,” he said. “This is where I really agree with him. The issue, the big issue, is they’re stealing our technology, our advanced technology.”

China has sent conflicting signals, alternating between accommodation and confrontation. On Tuesday, the Chinese government announced it would phase out rules requiring foreign automakers to share profits and factory ownership with Chinese companies by 2022.

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At the same time, the government announced it would compel U.S. sorghum exporters to pay a 178.6 percent deposit on a product that the Chinese use for cattle feed and as a sweetener in many products.

Kudlow (pictured above) expressed the hope that the two countries would negotiate a solution. He noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping recently gave a conciliatory speech.

“President Trump responded to that with an important tweet. Now, we’ll see how this conversation goes. Look, everything is on the table. The tariffs are on the table, and the negotiations are on the table,” he said. “Nothing has been implemented yet. But they know that we are serious, and I approve of that. One of the reasons that I’m working with him now is that I think he’s completely right on China.”

Beyond trade, Kudlow said he believes Trump’s economic policies are working.

“[We hope] the tax cuts that were enacted, the Trump tax cuts, have, you know, helped people … I think the evidence is good on the economy, Laura,” he said. “I think it’s doing very well.”

Related: Some Conservatives Worry Trump’s Tariffs Could Surrender Tax Gains

Kudlow referenced a recent Gallup poll suggesting that 45 percent of Americans believe they pay too much in taxes. That is high, he said, but the lowest figure Gallup has found since the 1960s.

The economics adviser said he hopes the president continues to hold events like a roundtable he conducted Monday in Florida with small-business leaders.

“He’s great in these settings,” he said. “And it’s important that we all message the better economy, the lower tax rates, fewer regulations. You know, all that stuff. It’s important to message that.”

PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo credit, homepage and article images: Larry Kudlow [1], [2], CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore)