The US and China are committed to reaching a trade deal by March 1 deadline, vows US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
- ‘If we can’t get to the deadline, it’s not because we haven’t worked around the clock,’ Mnuchin told CNBC
- He is due to travel to Beijing next week for third round of talks
Both sides in the US-China trade negotiations are making a “big commitment” to reach an agreement by the March 1 deadline, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed to a 90-day truce in the ongoing trade war, but US tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese imports will increase dramatically to 25 per cent if no deal is reached.
Mnuchin upbeat after first day of US-China trade war talks in Washington
Mnuchin told CNBC United States and Chinese officials are working “around the clock”, but there remains “a lot of work left to do”. He also stressed that any agreement must be enforceable.
“If we can’t get to the deadline, it’s not because we haven’t worked around the clock,” he said. “I think there’s a big commitment on both sides to try to meet this deadline.”
Mnuchin is due to travel to Beijing next week for a third round of talks aimed at resolving the dispute, which has imposed steep punitive tariffs on US$360 billion in two-way trade, weighing on the manufacturing sectors in both countries.