Kudlow Says Trumps China Tariffs Are Just Proposals Right Now

[DonViejo]

April 4, 2018, 5:30 PM EDT

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow stressed U.S. tariffs announced on Chinese goods are still only proposals that might never take effect as the Trump administration sought to tamp down fears of a trade war.

“None of the tariffs have been put in place yet, these are all proposals,” Kudlow said in an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg News. “We’re putting it out for comment. There’s at least two months before any actions are taken.”

Administration officials throughout the day emphasized the U.S. is willing to negotiate with China, helping to ease concerns among investors about a tit-for-tat trade conflict. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, after falling more than 2 percent at the market’s open, finished the day up almost 1 percent.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said China’s response isn’t expected to disrupt the U.S. economy. In an interview on CNBC on Wednesday, he said China’s announcement of retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. “shouldn’t surprise anyone.” He said the U.S. isn’t entering “World War III” and left the door open for a negotiated solution.

“Even shooting wars end with negotiations,” Ross said.

more
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-04/kudlow-says-china-tariffs-just-proposals-amid-trade-war-fears

[Hoyt]

1. trump advisers sound a little worried. Good.

[gratuitous]

2. Translation from weaselspeak: Trump is turtling

Once again, the president shot his mouth off, and here comes the ever-smaller horde of aides and sycophants to gaslight the American people into thinking that what they heard isn't really what Trump said.

Rep. Ted Lieu is currently putting the lie to Trump's grandiose statement about militarizing the border with Mexico. Look for all that bellicose bluster to go the way of the passenger pigeon by next week.