Foreign media: US Treasury Secretary says Sino-US trade talks are nearing an end

Release time:

2019-04-17

Foreign media said that U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said on April 13 that trade negotiations with China are nearing the end.

According to Agence France-Presse on April 13, Mnuchin told reporters: "It is more important to do things than to arbitrarily set dates." But he hopes the two sides are approaching the "final round of negotiations".

He made the remarks on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which ended over the weekend.

Mnuchin declined to give further details. He said, "The United States is making certain commitments in this agreement, and China is making certain commitments. I hope that the enforcement mechanism will work in both directions."

Mnuchin also said: "This is a very, very detailed agreement covering issues that have never been dealt with before." He indicated that the text currently consisted of seven chapters.

According to a Reuters report on April 13, Mnuchin told reporters on the sidelines of the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank that he and U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer will have a phone call with China next week. Officials are also discussing the need for more face-to-face talks to reach an agreement.

Asked whether the market opening in the agreement would go beyond the initiatives considered in the 2016 BIT negotiations, Mnuchin replied: "We are making progress and I want to be cautious. This is not an open negotiation… This is a very, very detailed agreement covering issues that have never been dealt with before." "This goes far beyond anything that looks like a bilateral investment treaty," he said."

Mnuchin said the two sides were working to negotiate a seven-chapter agreement that would be "the most significant change in the trade relationship in 40 years".

He said the agreement would be "effectively implemented by both sides". He also said the United States was willing to accept punishment if it failed to meet its commitments under the agreement.

In addition, according to a report on the Bloomberg News website on April 14, U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin stated that if the U.S. fails to fulfill its commitments in a potential U. S.-China trade agreement, it is willing to face "consequences", which shows that the two sides are closer to reaching an agreement. closer.

Mnuchin told reporters on the 13th: "The United States is making certain commitments in this agreement, and China is also making certain commitments."

He said: "I hope that the enforcement mechanism will work in both directions. We believe that we will fulfill our commitments. If we do not do this, there should be certain consequences, and the same is true for the other party."

Mnuchin said talks between the two countries aimed at ending a nine-month trade and tariff war are making progress. He said that under the agreement being discussed, the United States and China would each have an "executive office" to monitor compliance with the agreement.

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