by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Steven Mnuchin
Washington : US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said the US was temporarily suspending tariffs on Chinese goods after an agreement was reached to reduce the bilateral trade deficit.
“We are putting the trade war on hold,” Mnuchin said on Sunday in a “Fox News Sunday” television interview. “Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework.”
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump had threatened to slap tariffs on as much as $150 billion worth of Chinese imports to force changes in China’s trade practices, to which Beijing responded by vowing to retaliate against US exports, Efe news reported.
After two days of negotiations in Washington, the US and China on Saturday announced a framework agreement whereby Beijing agreed to “significantly” increase its purchases of US goods and services in an attempt to mitigate the risks of a trade war.
However, China failed to commit to a specific dollar figure despite Washington’s initial demand for a $200 billion reduction by 2020 in the trade deficit – which hit a record $375 billion last year.
Mnuchin downplayed that failure, saying that the two delegations had agreed on “specific targets” for individual sectors but adding that they would not be publicly disclosed.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will soon visit Beijing to finalize the agreement whereby China will import more energy products and agricultural commodities from the US, the treasury secretary said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
By Barry Eitel,
San Francisco: The dollar sank to a three-year low Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a weaker U.S. currency would boost U.S. trade.
Mnuchin made the comment during a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Obviously, a weaker dollar is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities,” Mnuchin said.
He said the White House was not focused at all on the short-term value of the dollar.
“Longer term, the strength of the dollar is a reflection of the strength of the U.S. economy and the fact that it is and will continue to be the primary currency in terms of the reserve currency,” he added.
As the dollar dropped, currencies like the British pound, Japanese yen and the euro rose.
According to the ICE U.S. Dollar Index which weighs the U.S. dollar against other global currencies, the dollar fell below the 90 mark for the first time since the end of 2014.
The dollar raced upward between 2014 and the November 2016 election of President Donald Trump. The latest downturn means that over half of that two-year gain has been wiped out.
Trump has upset global markets during his first year in office, including dropping the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal between 12 Asian, North American and South American countries. He has also strongly criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a landmark trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Earlier in the week, he imposed stiff tariffs on foreign-made solar panels and washing machines.
Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross spoke alongside Mnuchin and discounted any suggestion that the White House was attempting to launch an international trade war.
“We don’t think that adhering to the rules is protectionist,” Ross said. “We think, in fact, it is essential to having markets operate properly, to have people play by the rules.”
—AA
