Larry Kudlow says China is bearing the brunt of escalating trade war with U.S
President Trump's top economic adviser says China is bearing the brunt of the escalating trade dispute with the U.S., dismissing fears that reciprocal protectionist policies between the two economic giants will harm the American economy and precipitate a potential recession.
"The economic burden of these tariffs is falling most heavily on China, probably by a factor of 4 to 1 or 5 to 1," Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House's National Economic Council, said on "Face the Nation" Sunday. "The burden of this thing is falling way on China."
Speaking from France, where the president is attending the G-7 summit, Kudlow also argued that the trade war has been having a "minimal" impact on the U.S. economy.
The prolonged economic tit-for-tat between Washington and Beijing continued last week, when the president ordered an additional 5% tariff hike on $550 billion worth of Chinese goods. The hike, which is slated to go into effect in early October, would increase the tariff rate on these Chinese imports to 30%.
Mr. Trump framed the levies as a retaliatory measure against China, which the U.S. trade representative said had moved to impose tariffs on U.S. products on "unjustified" grounds. The U.S. announced the retaliatory response also included a 5% percent tariff increase on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.
Businesses and pro-trade groups like the National Retail Federation have warned that the burgeoning trade war could inflict significant damage to U.S. markets.
But Kudlow on Sunday reiterated that the president is simply defending American interests. He suggested that fears about an economic downturn as a result of the dispute with Beijing are overblown, saying the administration is not worried about a recession.
"I just want to disabuse so much of this recession talk out there. It just ain't so," he added.