Kudlow: ‘Both sides will suffer’ in U.S.-China trade war

The Trump administration will seek additional financial aid for farmers stung by the U.S.-China trade war, a top White House official said Sunday, adding that President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China are likely to meet in Japan next month to continue negotiations.

In an interview on Fox, Larry Kudlow, White House chief economic adviser, said “maybe the toughest burden is on farmers” and that additional help will be sought.

“I think we had an authorization of $12 billion,” Kudlow said, referring to the dollar amount the Trump administration has already pledged in aid to farmers. “We will do it again if we have to … We will do that,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.“

On Friday, the U.S. and China wrapped up another round of trade talks with no resolution as to when tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods would be removed. So far, China has not announced retaliatory countermeasures, Kudlow said, but “we may know more today or even this evening or tomorrow.”

“Both sides will suffer on this,” Kudlow said and defended the Trump administration’s actions. The blow to U.S. gross domestic product will be minuscule as the economy is “in terrific shape,” Kudlow said. “This is a risk we should and can take without damaging our economy in any appreciable way.”

The Chinese have invited U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to Beijing, and probably Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Kudlow said, adding “no concrete, definite plans yet.”

“Let me repeat the strong possibility that the two presidents will meet in Japan at the G-20 meeting” in June, Kudlow said.

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine