White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the U.S. and China are “pretty close” to reaching agreement on intellectual property theft.

U.S. accusations that China steals intellectual property from American companies are a central issue in President Donald Trump’s trade war with Beijing.

Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, also told reporters that he expects China will bring tariffs on autos imported from the U.S. to “zero.” China imposes a 15 per cent tariff on imported vehicles and raised the levy on U.S. cars to 40 per cent in retaliation for tariffs the Trump administration imposed on Chinese products.

Kudlow briefed reporters Monday 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 a deal had been reached.

Trump said in a tweet late Sunday that China would “reduce and remove” tariffs on American-made vehicles, raising more questions about the outcome of his meeting with Xi.