Kudlow: Trump Responding to China's 'Decades of Misdeeds'

President Donald Trump is trying to warn about China's “decades of misdeeds,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Monday.

After announcing new tariffs last week, Trump tweeted early Monday morning:

When a car is sent to the United States from China, there is a Tariff to be paid of 2 1/2%. When a car is sent to China from the United States, there is a Tariff to be paid of 25%. Does that sound like free or fair trade. No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE - going on for years!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 9, 2018

"This president's got some backbone, others didn't and he's raising the issue in full public view, setting up a process that may include tariffs. Hopefully, it will be mostly negotiations," Kudlow said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

"I don't know if we'll have tariffs or not."

The former CNBC contributor added that Trump "is responding to decades of misdeeds by China [on] trade, it's high time we did that."

"Somebody's got to do it. Somebody's got to say to China, 'you are no longer a Third World country. You are a First World country and you have to act like it,'" Kudlow said.

"The president's got to stick up for himself and the United States."