Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that any decision on tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods imported to the U.S. would not come for at least a month.
“There won’t be any decision probably for another 30 to 45 days,” he said at a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee.
Mnuchin added that the Treasury Department is studying the effects any potential future tariffs would have on the U.S. economy.
{mosads}“That’s something I can assure you the president will be focused on before we make any decisions,” he said, referring to a recent announcement from Walmart that its prices would rise across the nation due to existing tariffs, which were hiked earlier this month to 25 percent.
That move was met with a response from China, which raised tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports.
Trade talks between the U.S. and China have largely evaporated over the past few weeks, mainly due to a dispute over changes made to a draft agreement that the Trump administration said largely erased concessions previously agreed upon by Chinese negotiators.
A report released by Morgan Stanley on Monday indicated the U.S. would enter a recession if further tariffs on Chinese imports were levied by the Trump administration.
“If talks stall, no deal is agreed upon and the U.S. imposes 25% tariffs on the remaining ~US$300 billion of imports from China, we see the global economy heading towards recession,” the investment bank said.
“Even though talks may continue, global corporate confidence and consequently the global economy would take a hit,” it added.