The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank both issued warnings that trade disputes could put a healthy global economic expansion in jeopardy. A report says U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin showed cautious optimism over the weekend that the U.S. and China could settle their differences without a full-blown trade war. Mnuchin met recently with finance officials from Japan, China, and Europe to discuss a series of punitive tariffs the Trump Administration unveiled against China and other trading partners. Mnuchin would not tell reporters how close the U.S. was to resolving the various trade disputes, but he did say that progress has been made.
In a speech earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country would open itself wider to foreign companies. That raised hopes that the dispute with Washington, D.C., could be resolved. Mnuchin recently discussed Xi’s proposals with Chinese officials, saying “we’re cautiously optimistic.” The Treasury Secretary says he may soon travel to Beijing for further talks with Chinese officials.
Source: NAFB News Service