White House chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow speaks with reporters on the driveway outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, July 26, 2019.
Yuri Gripas | Reuters
White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow downplayed reports of a tariff delay on Tuesday, noting the Trump administration could still move forward with new levies targeting Chinese goods.
“The reality is those tariffs are still on the table, the Dec. 15 tariffs, and the president has indicated if the short strokes remaining in negotiations do not pan out to his liking that those tariffs could go back into place,” Kudlow said at a Wall Street Journal conference on Tuesday.
“So, they could not, but they also could. There is no definitive decision on that yet,” Kudlow added.
Kudlow’s comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. was contemplating pushing back additional tariffs on Chinese goods set to take effect on Dec. 15. Bloomberg News also said China expected the U.S. to hold off on those extra levies.
President Donald Trump said in October the two sides would sign a so-called phase one deal before year-end. That lifted investor sentiment and sent stocks rallying to record highs.
On Tuesday, however, the major indexes struggled for direction as Wall Street awaited for clarity on the U.S.-China trade front.
