WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th September, 2019) President Donald Trump is ready to raise tariffs on China if necessary, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview on Thursday, just one day after the US leader delayed new duties on Chinese imports in what he called a "good will" gesture toward Beijing.
"The president is a negotiator. He is prepared to keep these tariffs in place. He is prepared to raise tariffs if we need to raise it," Mnuchin told CNBC.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that Washington would delay for two weeks imposing an additional 5 percent tariffs on $250 billion worth of annual Chinese imports already carrying 25 percent US tariffs. Trump said the move was intended as a goodwill gesture toward Beijing and came at the request of Chinese Vice Premier Liu He ahead of the 70th anniversary of China's founding.
Mnuchin sounded upbeat about the prospects of upcoming trade negotiations with his Chinese counterparts, but emphasized that the US needs to rebalance relationship with China. "If China comes here with a proposal that makes sense, we will consider it," he added.
Last week, the two countries agreed to hold the next session of trade talks in Washington in early October. Previous negotiations took place in Shanghai in late July.
The trade row between the world's two largest economies erupted in June 2018 when the United States imposed the first round of its additional trade duties on China, prompting Beijing to respond in kind. Since then, the sides have exchanged several rounds of duties and are engaged in talks to settle their disagreements.
