WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump and top White House officials dismissed concerns that economic growth may be faltering, saying on Aug. 18 they saw little risk of recession despite a volatile week on global stock markets, and insisting their trade war with China was doing no damage to the United States.
“We’re doing tremendously well, our consumers are rich, I gave a tremendous tax cut, and they’re loaded up with money,” Trump said on Sunday.
But he was less optimistic on striking a trade deal with China, saying that while he believed China was ready to come to an agreement, “I’m not ready to make a deal yet.”
He hinted that the White House would like to see Beijing resolve ongoing protests in Hong Kong first.
“I would like to see Hong Kong worked out in a very humanitarian fashion,” Trump said. “I think it would be very good for the trade deal.”
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said trade deputies from the two countries would speak within 10 days and “if those deputies’ meetings pan out … we are planning to have China come to the USA” to advance negotiations over ending a trade battle that has emerged as a potential risk to global economic growth.
Even with the talks stalled for now and the threat of greater tariffs and other trade restrictions hanging over the world economy, Kudlow said on “Fox News Sunday” the United States remained “in pretty good shape.”
“There is no recession in sight,” Kudlow said. “Consumers are working. Their wages are rising. They are spending and they are saving.”
Their comments follow a week in which concerns about a possible U.S. recession weighed on financial markets. Democrats on Sunday argued Trump’s trade policies were posing an acute, short-term risk.
U.S. stock markets tanked last week on recession fears with all three major U.S. indexes closing down about 3 percent on Wednesday, paring their losses by Friday due to expectations the European Central Bank might cut rates.
The U.S. Federal Reserve and 19 other central banks have already loosened monetary policy in what Fitch Ratings last week described as the largest shift since the 2009 recession.
The president and his advisers have repeatedly accused the Fed of undermining the administration’s economic policies. On Sunday, Kudlow again pointed the finger at the central bank, describing rate hikes through 2017 and 2018 as “very severe monetary restraint.”
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday dismissed the idea that last week’s market volatility was a warning sign, saying “good” economic dynamics were encouraging investors to move money to the United States.
“We have the strongest economy in the world and money is coming here for our stock market,” Navarro told ABC’s “This Week.”
By Howard Schneider
