Mnuchin says 'a lot of issues' remain ahead of US-China trade talks next week

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (4thL), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (3rdL) and White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow (2ndL) pose for a photograph before the start of U.S.-China trade talks at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 21, 2019.

• Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday the US and China remained far apart on key concerns ahead of meetings in Shanghai next week.
• "I would say there are a lot of issues," Mnuchin told CNBC ahead of the highly-anticipated meetings, which were set to include US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
• The Trump administration has struggled to win concrete commitments from China on issues identified last year in its Section 301 investigation.
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed Wednesday he and other senior trade negotiators would meet with their Chinese counterparts in Shanghai next week, but he added that the two sides remained far apart on key concerns.

"I would say there are a lot of issues," Mnuchin told CNBC ahead of the highly-anticipated meetings, which were set to include US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Mnuchin said that he expected that negotiations between the US and China would continue in Washington after the trip scheduled to run through next Wednesday. The Treasury Department and the Office of the USTR did not respond to emails requesting comment.

The Trump administration has struggled to win concrete commitments from China on issues identified last year in its Section 301 investigation, which has led to more than $350 billion worth of tariffs between the largest economies. Those included intellectual property theft, the forced transfer of foreign technology and large-scale subsidies.

The discussions will also cover non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, the trade deficit, and enforcement, according to a White House spokesperson.

Next week will mark the first high-level negotiations between the two sides since nearly a dozen rounds of talks fell apart in May. Washington said Beijing reneged on previous commitments just as they were on the brink of a breakthrough, prompting President Donald Trump to raise tariff rates on a large swath of Chinese imports.

Trump has since threatened to extend those duties to virtually all shipments from China if a deal isn't reached. He and President Xi Jinping agreed at the G20 summit late last month to hold off on escalations, buying additional time for negotiators to restart efforts to defuse the yearlong trade war.

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