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

On July 4th, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin stated that it is Trump who will decide whether to extend the negotiations with trading partners beyond the final deadline of July 9th. On Thursday, when asked on a CNBC show whether it was possible to extend the deadline, Mnuchin replied, "We will act in accordance with the President's wishes, and it will be his decision whether they are negotiating in good faith." Mnuchin said that he met with the EU trade representative in the morning of Thursday and mentioned that the 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 with Japan yet, possibly due to the complexities of domestic politics in Japan. Regarding Vietnam, Mnuchin referred to his understanding that an agreement has been "essentially reached," and Trump's announced 20% tariff is a key part of the agreement, which will not be added on top of the existing 10% universal tariff. (FX678)