As US president Donald Trump prepared to enter the heat of battle in his trade war with China — with the imposition of a planned new round of tariffs on $200bn worth of imports — Larry Kudlow, his chief economic adviser, went on CNBC to offer a soothing message to investors.
A deal to overhaul Nafta was close to being completed, and a detente with the EU was solidly under way. The fights with America’s traditional allies would be on the backburner, and they could forge a “trade coalition of the willing” to confront Beijing.
“[The] EU would rather do business with the US than it would with China. I think the same is true with Japan. I think the same is true with Mexico,” Mr Kudlow said. “I think the Chinese, you know, may find themselves more isolated if they don’t come into the global process . . . and begin to say yes to the asks of President Trump.”