U.S. Treasury Secretary: Trump Will Decide Whether to Extend Trade Negotiations

BlockBeats News, July 4th, U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin stated that Trump will decide whether to extend negotiations with trading partners beyond the final deadline of July 9th. Mnuchin was asked on Thursday on a CNBC show whether it was possible to extend the deadline, to which he replied: "We will act according to the President's wishes, and it will be up to him to decide if they are negotiating in good faith."

Mnuchin said he met with the EU trade representative on Thursday morning and mentioned that U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer will be "working hard over the weekend" with European officials. When asked about the status of negotiations with Japan, Mnuchin stated that no agreement has been reached yet with Japan, possibly due to the complexities of domestic politics in Japan.

Regarding Vietnam, Mnuchin referred to his understanding that an agreement has been "principally reached," with Trump's announced 20% tariff being a key part of the agreement, which will not be added on top of the existing 10% universal tariff. (FX678)