Mnuchin to China: How the US delegation could run into problems
As U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and a delegation of administration officials head to Beijing later this week to negotiate on trade, they could be met with staunch resistance on some of their top priorities.
Mnuchin told FOX Business on Monday that one of the main issues President Donald Trump wants the delegation to tackle is the $375 billion trade deficit with China.
“We’re looking to have a very frank discussion on trade, on the issues of the trade imbalance,” he said during an interview with Maria Bartiromo. “President Trump has been very clear for the last year that he’s very focused on the trade deficit and we’re looking to correct that.”
The president has said he wants to shave $100 billion off of the deficit with China. However, people involved in Chinese policymaking said Beijing will refuse to discuss that demand, according to a New York Times report. Chinese officials also will not entertain any discussion to limit spending on a planned $300 billion industrial investment, aimed at upgrading “advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, electric cars and commercial aircraft.”
The discussions on trade come amid a tit-for-tat tariff escalation between the two countries, after President Trump announced tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese exports, including high tech goods. In return China declared sanctions of equal value on U.S. goods, including many agricultural products.
Trump has threatened another $100 billion in tariffs, while Beijing has said it will retaliate against the U.S. for any additional duties levied on its goods and services.
Despite the challenges that await negotiators, the U.S. Treasury secretary said he was “cautiously optimistic” about how the discussions would pan out.
“I don't really want to predict what's going to happen or what's not going to happen,” he said. “We're going to over there. We're going to have very frank discussions, these are issues that President Trump has been focused on for over the last year, and hopefully we'll make significant progress. We're going there to make progress, that's our objective.”
Mnuchin said U.S. officials will meet in China on Thursday and Friday.