President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser said Wednesday "expectations are very encouraging" for a U.S.-North Korea summit, but whether it takes place or not will not determine the course of trade talks with China.
In an interview on Fox News' "The Story With Martha MacCallum," Larry Kudlow, director of the White House's National Economic Council, said neither trade talks with China nor denuclearization discussions with North Korea depend on one another.
"I acknowledge they may be linked in a grand landscape," he conceded.
Kudlow said there has been "some progress" in trade discussions with China.
"The United States needs China to get rid of these unfair and illegal trading practices," he said. "We can't let them steal our technology. We can't let them force us to give technology over. They have to drop tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers. Some progress is being made."
"As the president has said, there will be times when he employs tariffs as [an] enforcement mechanism or maybe negotiating mechanism," Kudlow said. "There are times when tariffs will not be used. These things have their ups and downs there are cycles to this . . . I just hope that we can continue making progress."
Kudlow also weighed in on a reported CIA analysis that found the North Koreans would be unlikely to give up their nuclear weapons program — but they might be open to hosting a U.S. hamburger franchise.
"Doesn't sound like a winner to me," he said. "Denuclearization is a very key part of the U.S. demands. Burger Kings, fine, the more the merrier, I guess. North Koreans need food. No question about that. They might get some help from us if they do denuclearize. That's a possibility."
Kudlow also touted Trump as "a change agent" around the globe.
"Presumably the president will be over there in Singapore" for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, he said. "There is a G-7 meeting coming up, there are European discussions with us about trade. There are NAFTA discussions with us about trade. There are Chinese discussions.
"President Trump is a change agent. He is trying to change a number of things, you know, including unfair and illegal trading practices. He wants the U.S. to be treated fairly. He wants reciprocity. He wants peace and denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. You know, these are breathtaking developments."
"I happen to believe they are all for the good," he continued. "I think that the president is conducting himself in a terrific manner. By the way, he doesn't always play by the norms of Washington."
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