Next round of US tariffs on China at least a month away, says US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
- Trump has threatened to slap tariffs of up to 25 per cent on an additional list of Chinese imports worth US$300 billion
- No decision expected for ‘another 30 to 45 days’ as US studies impact on consumers
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin outlined on Wednesday what amounts to more breathing room in the trade war with China, saying a potential increase in tariffs on US$300 billion worth of mostly consumer goods is now at least a month away.
Speaking before the US House Committee on Financial Services, Mnuchin emphasized that an exclusion process would be in place should President Donald Trump follow through on his threat to increase tariffs on a fourth tranche of Chinese exports up to 25 per cent. The process would allow regulators to single out specific products for protection from increases in tariffs.
Trade war ‘hurting American companies in China’ as tariffs cut into demand
“I think you know, the process of round four, there won’t be any decision probably for another 30 to 45 days, and we will have an exclusion process built and ready if the president decides to go forward with that,” Mnuchin said.
“The last tranche is under investigation. The president has not yet made the decision, and consumer products are by design in the last tranche,” he added.
This month, the Trump administration increased existing tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 per cent, up from 10 per cent. The move was taken just before Chinese officials traveled to Washington to try to settle the 10-month trade dispute. Beijing retaliated with its own set of new tariffs on $60 billion worth of US imports.
Representative Ben McAdams, Democrat of Utah, highlighted baby diapers, strollers and other childcentric products that would be subject to the new tariffs, prompting Mnuchin to say he was speaking with large consumer retail companies like WalMart to track prices, which he said, have not gone up so far.
“We are very carefully monitoring the consumer prices and that is something that I can assure you the president will be very focused on before we make any decisions,” he said.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has said that higher tariffs on Chinese goods will cause its prices to rise.
US ban could hurt Apple sales as Chinese show support
Trump has embraced protectionism – in the form of tariffs – as part of an “America First” agenda aimed at rebalancing global trade.
A 30-day window would represent an accelerated schedule compared to previous rounds of US tariffs and would mean that the next batch of levies would be ready when Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping, as expected, at a G20 leaders summit in Japan on June 28-29.
“I’m still hopeful we can get back to the table. The two presidents will likely see each other at the end of June,” Mnuchin said, adding that the impact of tariffs on American consumers was a key consideration in the US trade strategy.
I’m still hopeful we can get back to the table. The two presidents will likely see each other at the end of June
Mnuchin said the Trump administration is open to holding new talks with China if the two sides can proceed on the basis of previous negotiations.
No talks between top Chinese and US negotiators have been scheduled since the end of two days of discussions in Washington on May 10.
The seeds of the current stalemate were sowed earlier this month when Chinese officials sought major changes to the text of a proposed deal that the Trump administration says had been largely agreed on.
The Chinese government’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said on Wednesday that China’s door would always be open to further trade talks with the United States, but added that Beijing would not accept any unequal agreements.
US firms said in a survey released on Wednesday they were facing retaliation in China over the trade war.
The American Chamber of Commerce of China and its sister body in Shanghai said that members reported increased obstacles including government inspections, slower customs clearances and longer waits for approval for licensing and other applications.
Trump readies new round of aid for US farmers hit by trade war with China
It also said that 40.7 per cent of respondents were considering or had relocated manufacturing facilities outside China. Of the almost 250 respondents to the survey, which was conducted after the latest round of US and Chinese tariffs, nearly three-quarters said the levies were hurting their competitiveness.
Additional reporting by Reuters
