No ‘arbitrary deadline’ in US-China trade talks as new tariffs loom, says White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow
- Trump’s adviser confirms December 15 still ‘important date’ for new round of US tariffs on Chinese goods
- US government looking for agreement on enforcement procedures to get a deal done
US President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser said on Friday that a December 15 deadline for Washington to slap additional tariffs on Chinese imports has not changed as US negotiators push Beijing to agree to an enforcement mechanism as part of a trade deal.
“There’s no arbitrary deadline here … but the fact remains that December 15 is a very important date with respect to a no-go or a go on tariffs,” Kudlow said in an interview with CNBC.
“If the assurances with respect to preventing future [intellectual property] theft are no good, if the enforcement procedures are no good, [Trump] has said we will not go forward. We will walk away.”
Trump has threatened to impose 15 per cent tariffs on a further US$156 billion worth of Chinese imports from December 15 if an interim deal is not reached before that date. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross repeated the warning on Tuesday.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has already put punitive tariffs of 15 to 25 per cent on about US$360 billion worth of imports from China since the trade war started in July 2018.