WASHINGTON _ White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the U.S. and China are "pretty close" to an agreement on stopping intellectual property theft.
The two countries are "pretty close on some agreements on IP theft, pretty close to some agreements on the forced transfer of technology from American companies," Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters Monday in a briefing on trade talks. "When I say pretty close, they are kind of on the front burner, hot list that we've developed with them."
U.S. complaints about alleged Chinese theft of intellectual property and forced technology transfers from American companies seeking to do business in China are central issues in President Donald Trump's trade war with Beijing.
Kudlow also said he expects China will bring tariffs on autos imported from the U.S. to "zero." China imposes a 15 percent tariff on imported vehicles and raised the levy on U.S. cars to 40 percent in retaliation for tariffs the Trump administration imposed on Chinese products.
Kudlow briefed reporters following talks at the Group of 20 summit over the weekend between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Auto tariffs will be discussed right away in follow-up talks, Kudlow said.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier in the day China has agreed to reduce tariffs on imported automobiles but declined to give details. Trump jolted car stocks by announcing late Sunday on Twitter that a deal had been reached, without any specifics.
Trump said in the tweet that China would "reduce and remove" tariffs on American-made vehicles, raising more questions about the outcome of his meeting with Xi.
