By coinnews 
00:00 Speaker A
We want to turn now to Yahoo! Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger. She was in the room with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other reporters earlier today. So Jen, what were your takeaways from his comments and what he told the reporters there?
00:17 Jennifer Schonberger
Hi, Julie, good to see you. Yes, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that tariffs between the U.S. and China need to come down first before both countries begin talking. Mnuchin telling me and a group of reporters earlier today in Washington that, quote, neither side believes that these are sustainable levels. This is the equivalent of an embargo, and a break between the two countries in trade does not suit anyone’s interests. Now at the same time, Mnuchin denied that the Trump administration is considering unilaterally slashing tariffs on Chinese imports, telling reporters that high tariffs imposed by both sides need to come down mutually before talks can begin between the two economies. So it will be a two-step process when it comes to trade negotiations with China: first, de-escalation, then talks. And those talks are going to occur at the highest level, because Mnuchin says that is where the relationship is strongest, between President Trump and President Xi. Now, Mnuchin also stressed that the U.S.’s goal is to first get trade deals with the largest 15 economies. It’s not like economies will rise and fall with trade deals with the economies of the Bahamas or Costa Rica. He said that the U.S. is very close to a trade deal with India, echoing comments from Vice President J. D. Vance. Mnuchin says the end goal here is to lower tariff and nontariff barriers, and to get free trade, or to get fair trade, I should say. Now, he also expects by the third quarter, we will get clarity on tariffs, a tax bill, as well as deregulation. And separately, he was asked about whether he has had talks with the president about firing Fed Chair Jay Powell before his term is up, and what he advised the president to do. Mnuchin merely telling us that this is, quote, mostly a dragon that the press wanted to create so they could slay it.
05:06 Speaker A
Back to you. Well, of course, Kevin Hassett, the economic advisor to the president, is one of the people who brought up the idea of perhaps the White House examining following.
05:18 Jennifer Schonberger
Right, they were looking into it, yes.
05:21 Speaker A
But be that as it may, um, one of the things you mentioned is that Mnuchin said we could have greater clarity by the third quarter. Why the third quarter? What why did he talk about that period of time?
05:37 Jennifer Schonberger
I think the notion is that he believes that the U.S. knows what nontariff barriers it wants, that we know the roadmap, and he doesn’t expect that these discussions are going to be extended. However, he also noted that a lot of countries don’t want to see their tariff rates ratcheted back up to the levels announced back on April 2nd. So clearly a goal here to try to get something clinched by the end of those 90-day uh the 90-day pause period. And also, Julie, I want to just share that Mnuchin was asked who the president takes advice from when it comes to tariffs, who he listens to. And Mnuchin, of course, said there is a range of stakeholders and advisors, but he zeroed specifically in on business leaders, noting that the president has met in the past week with the heads of Walmart, Home Depot, and German automakers.
07:11 Speaker A
Interesting, Jen. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.