U.S. Treasury Secretary signals chance to end China trade war before talks if Beijing offers concessions

BLOOMBERG

JAN 30, 2019

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/01/30/business/steve-mnuchin-signals-chance-end-china-trade-war-talks-beijing-offers-concessions/#.XFoMPVxKi1s

WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that if China presents enough trade concessions to President Donald Trump, there’s a chance the administration may lift all tariffs.

“Everything is on the table,” Mnuchin said early Tuesday during an interview on Fox Business Network. The Treasury chief is set to meet with top Chinese officials in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday alongside U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about a month before the U.S. is set to escalate its trade war with China with fresh tariffs.

Trump and China’s Xi Jinping gave their officials until March 1 to work out a deal on “structural changes” to China’s economic model. If they fail, Trump has promised to raise the tariff rate on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. The collapse of talks would dash hopes of a lasting truce that would remove one of the darkest clouds hanging over the world economy.

China is facing added urgency to end the trade spat amid the weakest domestic growth since 2009.

Divisions remain within Trump’s trade team, with hawks including Lighthizer and National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro seeking tougher terms from China, and Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow prioritizing preserving U.S. growth.

Mnuchin pushed back on speculation that the U.S.’s latest actions against Huawei Technologies Co. were tied to the trade talks. U.S. prosecutors on Monday filed criminal charges against Huawei, accusing the Chinese company of stealing trade secrets and committing bank fraud. But Mnuchin insisted the case was separate from trade negotiations, adding that he wasn’t aware in advance of Monday’s charges.

In a sign of the importance the White House is placing on the talks, Trump is expected to meet China’s top trade negotiator at the end of the week. In addition to U.S. demands for structural changes to China’s economy, the latest round of talks will cover Beijing’s pledge to buy more American goods.

U.S.' Mnuchin, Lighthizer to hold talks next week in China: Dow Jones

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-talks/u-s-mnuchin-lighthizer-to-hold-talks-next-week-in-china-dow-jones-idUSKCN1PU2H0

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer plan to hold trade talks in Beijing early next week, Dow Jones reported on Tuesday, citing an unidentified senior administration official.

China has agreed to widen trade discussions to include hacking, it said. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the new round of talks.

The two sides met in Washington last week for high-level talks, with President Donald Trump saying he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to seal a comprehensive trade deal.

Trump, speaking at the White House last week during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, said he was optimistic that the world’s two largest economies could reach “the biggest deal ever made.”

The Chinese trade delegation said in a statement that the talks had made “important progress,” China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.