Kudlow defends Trump on US-China trade deal

(17 Oct 2019) White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow Thursday insisted US President Donald Trump wasn't premature in announcing a deal last Friday to delay a tariff hike in exchange for Chinese purchases of US exports. Kudlow said that the president made the decision after talks last Thursday and Friday were "a bit more positive," than expected. Meanwhile, China appealed to Washington for a quick end to their trade war but gave no indication Thursday what additional steps Beijing might want before carrying out what Trump says is a promise to buy up to US$50 billion of American farm goods. Beijing says it will buy more American goods but has yet to confirm the details, leaving companies wondering whether Chinese leaders have other demands including a possible end to punitive U.S. tariffs before that goes ahead. Negotiators are "striving to reach a consensus on the text of the agreement as soon as possible," said a Ministry of Commerce spokesman, Gao Feng. "I can't disclose the specific details." U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters Wednesday that officials were still ironing out details of a preliminary agreement. Companies welcomed the deal as a small but promising possible step toward breaking a deadlock in the 15-month-old fight over China's trade surplus and technology ambitions. Tariff hikes by both sides on billions of dollars of imports have battered factories and farmers, weighing on global economic growth. Trump delayed a tariff due to take effect Tuesday on $250 billion of Chinese goods but another increase on $160 billion of imports still is scheduled for December 15. Economists warned the truce fails to address more basic complaints about Beijing's plans for government-led creation of global competitors in robotics and other technologies. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/...