Politics

Cramer: I believe former Trump advisor Gary Cohn 'would've liked' this US-China trade framework

Key Points
  • The trade framework being negotiated between the United States and China would have been right up Gary Cohn's alley, CNBC Jim Cramer says.
  • Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says the Trump administration came away from trade talks with a "very comprehensive framework."
Cramer: The market wants an end to anything 'trade'
VIDEO1:4301:43
Cramer: The market wants an end to anything 'trade'

The trade framework being negotiated between the United States and China would have been right up Gary Cohn's alley, CNBC Jim Cramer said Monday.

Cohn, who was director of President Donald Trump's National Economic Council before Larry Kudlow, "would've liked this deal very much, I believe," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street."

Cohn was not immediately available to respond to CNBC's request for comment.

"There was a group within the White House, which Larry Kudlow was not apart of, that pushed out Gary Cohn," said Cramer, pointing out that Cohn, formerly the No. 2 executive at Goldman Sachs, was "widely viewed as a globalist."

Back in March, Trump picked the longtime economist and former CNBC commentator Kudlow to succeed Cohn.

Cohn resigned from the White House shortly after losing his fight to persuade the president not to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminum, an earlier move separate from the latest China tariffs over what the U.S. considers Chinese companies' theft of American intellectual property.

When Cohn resigned, Cramer had said at the time that it was a "big blow" to the market.

However, Cramer, host of "Mad Money," on Monday said the stock market had been experiencing a sort of relief rally because investors want an "end to anything trade."

And at the Wall Street open, the Dow Jones industrial average spiked higher — soaring about 350 points in early trading and eclipsing 25,000 for the first time since mid-March.

"It's great for the stock market," Cramer said. "It's saying there is a framework, so if there is a framework then there's not going to be a break off talks ... and they'll be something that comes out." But he added, "I just wish we could clarify exactly what we got."

In an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the Trump administration came away from trade talks with a "very comprehensive framework agreement that needs to be implemented." Mnuchin expressed enthusiasm regarding energy, estimating U.S. companies likely can sell $40 billion to $50 billion to Chinese firms.