Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday made clear there’s only one person leading trade negotiations with China: President Donald Trump.
“He and I are the only two people that can bring about massive and very positive change, on trade and far beyond, between our two great Nations. A solution for North Korea is a great thing for China and ALL!” Trump tweeted.
Over the weekend, the leaders of the world’s largest trading partners struck a temporary truce, with Trump agreeing to maintain the 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, and not raise them to 25% “at this time,” ahead of a January 1 deadline.
In exchange, China agreed it was willing to purchase a “very substantial” amount of agriculture, energy and other goods from the United States to help reduce the trade imbalance — an achievement Trump also touted on Twitter, saying “Farmers, I LOVE YOU!”
It will now be up to US and Chinese negotiators to craft a deal with “real agreement” on “specific action items and deliverables and timeframes,” said Mnuchin in the interview.
Trump has fostered rivalries among his closest advisers on China, pitting former Wall Streeters such as Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow against China hawks such as Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, and Peter Navarro, a former economics professor who is now Trump’s China trade adviser.
In an early morning interview on National Public Radio, Navarro — who has clashed with his White House colleagues on how the US should proceed in its negotiations with China — suggested that Lighthizer would be overseeing negotiations.
