White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday trade disputes, including one over a Trump administration decision to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports, could jeopardize strong U.S. job numbers.
Asked by “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace whether tensions over trade could “jeopardize” job growth, Kudlow replied: “It might. I don’t deny that. You have to keep an eye on it.”
“It’s possible. I don’t think it has right now,” Kudlow continued.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that the White House demanded that he agree to the inclusion of a sunset clause in the North American Free Trade Agreement as precondition for a meeting to discuss Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. In a press conference announcing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., Trudeau said the ultimatum came from Vice President Mike Pence, who told Trudeau he would have to consent to adding a five-year sunset clause to NAFTA in order to have the meeting. Trudeau said that was “completely unacceptable.”
“I think he’s overreacting. I don’t want to get in the middle of that. As a fine friend and ally of the United States, nobody denies that. But the point is we have to protect ourselves,” Kudlow said Sunday.
“I don’t think we are satisfied yet that they will protect or uphold all the shipments of steel coming into Canada from around the world,” he added.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. had added 223,000 jobs, the overall unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, and black unemployment hit a new record low.
