U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on T.V. Sunday that the U.S. and China have put the trade war between the two “on hold” after both nations agreed to drop their tariff threats while formulating a wider trade agreement.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on T.V. Sunday that the U.S. and China have put the trade war between the two “on hold” after both nations agreed to drop their tariff theats while formulating a wider trade agreement.
Secretary Mnuchin was speaking in a television interview on “Fox News Sunday.” He said that he and U.S. President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow reached the agreement with Chinese and American negotiators on Saturday. The two nations will be moving forward from a framework for addressing trade imbalances between the two countries.
“We are putting the trade war on hold. Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework,” Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.”
On Saturday China agreed to increase purchases of US goods, in a move to ‘substantially reduce the American-Sino trade gap. The US and China have agreed to cooperate on trade, with China set to ‘significantly increase’ what it buys from the U.S. The statement said the agreement “will help support growth and employment in the United States.”
“To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services. This will help support growth and employment in the United States,” Whitehouse statement
China is a huge importer of American agriculture and through that much of the American rural heartland relies on them, in particular soy bean and sorghum farmers. On this issue the staement read “meaningful increases in United States agriculture and energy exports. The United States will send a team to China to work out the details.”
The conciliatory tone brings some relief for financial markets rattled b this and other geopolitical issues including NAFTA, Iran and the ongoing U.S. poltical impasses.
Source: Reuters From the TradersCommunity News Desk