White House Adviser Says China Agricultural Purchases Will Depend Partly on Markets

Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow arrives to speak to the media at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 6, 2019. Joshua Roberts/Reuters

WASHINGTON—White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Oct. 17 that China’s “serious commitment” to buy $40 billion to $50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural goods as part of a phase 1 trade deal would depend in part on private companies and market conditions.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Kudlow said the first phase of a trade deal, revealed last week, may be signed at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum next month in Chile, noting that the figures relating to Chinese purchases were a “considered number.”