Mnuchin, "No Impact of COVID-19 on Implementation of US-China Phase One Trade Deal"

Kudlow Expresses Opposing Views to NEC Chair
US Economic Growth Rate Expected to be 2.5% This Year

Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, stated on the 6th (local time) that he believes China will implement the Phase One trade agreement with the United States as planned. He also predicted that the U.S. economic growth rate this year will fall short of 3% due to the Boeing incident.

In an interview with Fox Business on the same day, Secretary Mnuchin said, "The agreement will continue to be implemented as planned, and I believe China will maintain its commitment to purchasing U.S. products."

Despite concerns that the implementation of the Phase One trade agreement between the U.S. and China, including China's large-scale purchase commitments of U.S. products, might be delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Mnuchin denied this and emphasized China's fulfillment of its promises. Previously, Larry Kudlow, Chairman of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), had suggested that the implementation of the U.S.-China agreement could be delayed due to COVID-19.

Secretary Mnuchin stressed, "Based on the current information, I do not think they (China) will have any issues fulfilling their commitments."

Through the Phase One trade agreement, China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion (231.7 trillion KRW) worth of U.S. products over the next two years compared to 2017, covering sectors such as agricultural products, manufactured goods, services, and energy.

Secretary Mnuchin also expressed a different view from Chairman Kudlow regarding the U.S. economic growth forecast for this year. He said, "The U.S. economic growth rate this year will fall short of 3% due to the Boeing 737 Max incident, probably by about 0.5 percentage points." In contrast, Chairman Kudlow forecasted that the U.S. economy would grow by 3% this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.