Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday he expects China to meet the obligations it agreed to in the first phase of the U.S.-China trade deal, even with the tensions mounting between the two countries over the coronavirus pandemic.
"This was a deal that was negotiated over a long period of time," Mnuchin told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo, when asked if China will keep to its promise of buying $250 billion in U.S. goods. "It was signed off by President Xi [Jinping] and President [Donald] Trump, and, and I have every reason to expect that they honor this agreement."
If China reneges on the agreement, there would be "very significant consequences in the relationship and in the global economy, and to how people would do business with them," Mnuchin warned.
Meanwhile, Trump is reviewing all issues concerning China "very carefully," while wanting to punish the country's Communist Party for its behavior with the beginnings of the virus, including the belief that it started in a Wuhan lab but the party worked to hide the extent of the problem from the world.
"He is not happy that they did not let people in earlier to study this, to know what was going on," said Mnuchin.
Also on Monday, Mnuchin said there would not be a bailout to the nation's oil companies, as a glut of oil on the market has caused prices to plummet in recent weeks.
"This is classic supply, demand, and balance for oil," said Mnuchin. "There is just not a lot of room to store this. There is no question in my mind [that] down the road, oil will rebound."
The lower prices do present a great deal for Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, who has been able to "cut amazing deals" by "literally getting free oil for paying for storage," Mnuchin said.
"I know he is looking for more storage capacity," said Mnuchin. "The president is determined that we will work with the Department of Energy to support our industry."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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