US President Donald Trump ‘perfectly happy’ to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods if talks fail to progress, Steven Mnuchin says
- US Treasury Secretary puts ball back in Beijing’s court, saying Washington prepared to ‘move forward’ as long as China accepts its terms
- Official tweeted earlier about ‘candid’ trade discussion with People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang
US President Donald Trump has no qualms about introducing more tariffs on Chinese imports if no progress is made on the stalled negotiations when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.
Speaking to CNBC at the end of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, the official suggested the ball was now firmly back in Beijing’s court.
“If China wants to move forward with the deal, we’re prepared to move forward on the terms we’ve done,” he said.
“If China does not want to move forward, then President Trump is perfectly happy to move forward with tariffs to rebalance the relationship.”
If China wants to move forward with the deal, we’re prepared to move forward on the terms we’ve done
Mnuchin said earlier on Twitter that he had had a “candid” discussion about trade with China’s central bank governor Yi Gang on the sidelines of the finance summit. That was the first face-to-face meeting of senior officials from the US and China since trade negotiations faltered last month.
“Had constructive meeting with PBOC [People’s Bank of China] Governor Yi Gang, during which we had a candid discussion on trade issues,” he said in a tweet alongside a photograph of the two men shaking hands.
The PBOC later published a short notice on its website saying the two officials exchanged views on global financial conditions, G20 affairs and topics of mutual concern.