Bannon’s fodder

Trade war not a worry, Steve says

Trade wars, while perhaps nerve-wracking, are winnable, according to former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

“How [the trade war] ends is in victory,” Bannon said Wednesday at a Manhattan investor conference. “Donald Trump is not going to back off this. The Chinese are going to blink.”

Earlier this month the US and China levied tariffs of $34 billion on each other’s goods, with the Trump administration then threatening more tariffs in response to what it says is China’s theft of US intellectual property.

“I think the No. 1 thing you’re going to see out of the trade war is the reorientation of the complete supply chain of Japan, Western Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia,” Bannon added, noting that “the regime in China is in deep trouble.”

But for all his excitement for his former boss, Bannon conceded that he doesn’t speak directly with the president.

“I talk to guys in the White House all the time,” the 64year-old said at the CNBC In- stitutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference. “But with the president, I make sure we go through lawyers.” Bannon said the Mueller investigation is why he leans on lawyers when reaching out to Trump.

Earlier at the conference, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow painted a rosy picture of the economy, saying: “There’s no recession in sight right now.”

Kudlow’s bullishness stems from the possibility of an unprecedented capital spending boom and the return of capital to US from Europe and China at levels unseen since the 1990s.

Those factors could contribute to GDP growth in excess of 4 percent for a quarter or two, Kudlow noted.

Kudlow’s remarks come as many from Wall Street to Washington have worried about a more volatile stock market and the brewing trade war between the US and China

But when it comes to trade, the ball is now in President Xi’s court to end the battle, Kudlow said, adding that his sources indicate that many in China want a deal to be made.