Despite the rhetoric, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to meet at the G20 summit in Argentina in late November.
WASHINGTON: After threatening to slap China with new tariffs, Trump administration officials on Sunday softened some of the rhetoric, noting that the penalties aren’t imminent and there is ample time to work out a deal and step back from a possible trade war.
President Donald Trump on Thursday signaled an escalation in a trade dispute with China, warning that he might impose tariffs on an additional $100 billion of goods imported from China, apart from tariffs on $50 billion in imports he had announced earlier in the week.
China, in turn, cautioned that it would “hit back forcefully” if the U.S. carried out the threat.
The specter of rolling tariffs and retaliatory action by China rattled markets: the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 572 points, or 2.3%, on Friday.
In interviews on the Sunday talk shows, senior Trump administration officials played down talk of a looming trade war, a message that could help calm markets.
Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “I don’t expect there will be a trade war” and that the U.S.’s intention is to “continue to have discussions with China.”
He suggested, though, that if China doesn’t agree to create conditions for “free and fair reciprocal trade,” the U.S. is prepared to aggressively defend its interests.
Of the possibility of a trade war, Mr. Mnuchin said: “It could be,” adding, “but I don’t expect it at all.”
Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “I don’t expect there will be a trade war” and that the U.S.’s intention is to “continue to have discussions with China.”
He suggested, though, that if China doesn’t agree to create conditions for “free and fair reciprocal trade,” the U.S. is prepared to aggressively defend its interests.
Of the possibility of a trade war, Mr. Mnuchin said: “It could be,” adding, “but I don’t expect it at all.”
“We’re looking at future actions,” he continued, in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
Mr. Kudlow said that the dispute could be resolved through negotiations with China.
“Maybe China will want to come around and talk in earnest. So far, it hasn’t. I hope it does,” he said.
During the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump promised to address Chinese trade practices that he says are harming U.S. businesses and wiping out jobs. Though financial markets have reacted nervously, his supporters say the tariff threats fulfill that pledge.
Steve Bannon, his former White House strategist and campaign adviser, said in an interview: “The elites in America have bailed out the Chinese regime for 25 years. Trump is the first leader to confront this—the first leader of either party to have the backs of American workers.”
Mr. Bannon was ousted last year, but other economic nationalists remain in high positions, including senior trade adviser Peter Navarro.
Mr. Navarro was asked Sunday if the administration was trying to have it “both ways,” threatening tariffs while simultaneously assuring the public that the levies are merely a “negotiating ploy.”
“Which is it?” asked NBC “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd.
“It’s both,” Mr. Navarro replied.
He went on to say that “we’re very clear-eyed about this. We’re moving forward on a measured way with tariffs, with investment restrictions.”
Mr. Trump has also installed advisers who are wary of tariffs and espouse more free-trade principles—notably Mr. Kudlow.
Meeting with reporters last week at the White House, Mr. Kudlow conceded, “I’m not a tariff guy.”
At the same time, he said China’s behavior warrants aggressive steps, citing the theft of U.S. intellectual property.
“Sometimes you have to use tariffs to bring countries to their senses,” he said.
Tweeting on Sunday, Mr. Trump struck a hopeful note that China and the U.S. can reach an accord absent a trade war.
“President Xi and I will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade” he wrote of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. “China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!” - WSJ
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