White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the risk of higher prices to American consumers and businesses because of tariffs on Chinese goods are worth it if the nation ends up with a fairer trade deal.
When pressed in a Fox News interview on President Trump’s statements that China will pay the tariffs and that instead Americans are projected to pay higher prices for goods, Kudlow said, “Yes, to some extent. I don’t disagree with that. Again, both sides will suffer.”
Kudlow said China will suffer economic losses because of a diminishing export market and reduced access to goods they may need.
The U.S. increased the taxes on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods from 10% to 25% and started the process to impose tariffs on all remaining imports from China, approximately $300 billion of goods, last week to try to pressure China to reaffirm previous pledges made previously in trade talks.
The risk to prices is worth it, Kudlow said, calling past trade relations with the communist nation “unfair, nonreciprocal, unbalanced, in many cases unlawful.”
“The United States economy is in a boom, the numbers are coming in terrific — better than anybody expected on growth, on jobs, on unemployment, on wages, on productivity. We are in terrific shape,” said Kudlow. “In order to correct 20-years-plus of unfair trading practices with China, as I said, unlawful trading practices, I think this is a risk we should and can take without damaging our economy”
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely talk at the upcoming G-20 summit in Japan next month, he said.
[Related: ‘They have to stop’: Small businesses alarmed by new Trump tariff threat]
