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US treasury secretary says he expects no trade war with China

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. (Photo by AFP)

Following the latest trade clash between the United States and China due to tariffs the two countries have imposed on one another’s goods, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he does not expect a trade war.

“Our expectation is that we don’t think there will be a trade war. Our objective is to continue to have discussions with China. We want to have free and fair reciprocal trade,” Mnuchin told CBS’ Face The Nation.

The White House revealed late Thursday that Trump asked his US trade representative to evaluate the need for tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese goods on top of the tariffs the US has already slapped on $50 billion worth of products from China.

After announcing earlier in the week it was prepared for a retaliatory 25-percent tariff on $50 billion worth of US imports, China said Friday that it would “dedicate itself to the end and at any cost and will definitely fight back firmly" if the US persists with the tariffs.

However, Mnuchin downplayed such measures arguing that the tariffs are a limited surgical approach aimed at reforming Chinese trade practices and only cover a fraction of trade between the two nations.  

 “It’s only $135 billion of goods in a $20 trillion economy, and if we can open up their $10 trillion economy for us to compete fairly, this is one of the single biggest opportunities long term for US companies.”


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