Kudlow Concedes China Tariffs Will Cost US Consumers

Chief economic adviser contradicts Trump
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted May 12, 2019 12:50 PM CDT
Kudlow Concedes China Tariffs Will Cost U.S. Consumers
White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow contradicted the president Sunday.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Trump's chief economic adviser contradicted his boss Sunday on tariffs placed on imports from China by the US. The president had said that China will bear the cost. On Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace pressed Larry Kudlow, saying the cost of tariffs is passed on to US importers, companies, and consumers. "Fair enough," Kudlow answered. "In fact, both sides will pay." He argued that China's GDP will be hit harder because the US economy is strong, CNBC reports. "This is a risk we should and can take without damaging our economy in any appreciable way," Kudlow said.

Trump defended his decision to more than double tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports in tweets on Friday. This round of trade talks then ended without a deal. "Love collecting BIG TARIFFS!” he tweeted the next day. Members of both parties criticized Trump's handling of the trade talks on Sunday. "The longer we’re involved in a tariff battle or a trade war, the better chance there is that we could actually enter into a recession because of it," Republican Rand Paul said on ABC's This Week, per the Washington Post. Henry Paulson, who was Treasury secretary under President George W. Bush, warned about tariffs. "They’re a tax on the American consumer," Paulson said on Face the Nation. (More tariffs stories.)

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