Mnuchin: There 'could be' trade war

Source: The Hill




BY MALLORY SHELBOURNE - 04/08/18 10:57 AM EDT

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that there “could be” a trade war between the United States and China due to the recent tariff threats, but he does not expect one.

“I don’t expect there will be a trade war. It could be, but I don’t expect it at all,” Mnuchin told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

The treasury secretary’s remarks come after the Trump administration said it plans to enact tariffs on about $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, a move that caused China to respond with its own $50 billion tariff package aimed at U.S. goods including automobiles. The threats have caused concerns over a possible trade war, though President Trump has dismissed this possibility.

“We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S.,” Trump said Wednesday. “Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!”

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/382161-mnuchin-there-could-be-trade-war