Nothing is off the table against China, others who trade with North Korea, Tony Sayegh says
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin threatened to cut off trade with any country doing business with North Korea — including the US' largest trading partner, China.
When asked if the Treasury Department was willing to follow through with the threat, Tony Sayegh, assistant secretary for public affairs at U.S. Treasury, told the FOX Business Network’s Stuart Varney, “The Secretary has already… used his sanction powers to apply to a Chinese bank and if there are more that we identify, they will be sanctioned as well.”
According to Sayegh, the U.S. is willing to go after anyone who tries to sidestep sanctions against North Korea.
“Nobody is off the table, it’s the priority of this administration when it comes to Korea to prioritize national security and we will use all the tools at our disposal to do so,” Sayegh said on Varney & Co.
Sayegh warned that countries trading with North Korea will put their trade relationship with the U.S. at risk.
“The Secretary has reinforced the idea that if you are going to be a trading partner of the regime in North Korea, that we will reevaluate our trading relationship with you.”
When asked if even harsher sanctions against China were expected, Sayegh responded that the administration doesn’t “telegraph sanctions,” but told Varney, “We also have made it a very clear point that nothing is off the table and we believe very strongly in the economic sanctions power that comes from Treasury.”