Friday on Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Company,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow rejected the label that President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union were a trade war.
He said it was instead “a trade dispute among family members.”
When asked if we are in a trade war, Kudlow said, “It is not. It is not. It is a trade dispute, and it’s a trade dispute among family members, and all the doors are open, all the communication lines are open. That, by the way, was in the statement yesterday. We are continuing to discuss all these areas, whether it’s steel or agriculture or NAFTA. The same is true with Europe. Discussions are ongoing. Whether these tariffs are finalized or not, I don’t want to predict. But I will just say the president wants fairness, and he wants reciprocity. Those are two key principles.”
He added, “The trading system is a fossil. It’s a dinosaur. It needs to be reformed. Donald Trump is shaking the tree like he always does. He means it. It’s funny I think about this, and I always say you know what, when he says these things, believe him, please. He means it. He is deadly serious, and he may go down in history as the best trade reformer in I don’t know how many years, 50 or 100 years. The trading system needs help. He wants to change it pretty wants to make it fair. He wants to make it reciprocal, and he wants to help American workers which I think will help the rest of the world.”
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