Treasury Secretary Mnuchin in China trying to end trade war

Reuters reports that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will be in Beijing on Tuesday “to try to hammer out details to end” the year-long U.S.-China “trade war, including the shape of an enforcement mechanism, the success or failure of which could set the trajectory of ties for years to come.”

According to Reuters, “Both sides have cited progress on issues including intellectual property and forced technology transfer to help end a conflict marked by tit-for-tat tariffs that have cost the world’s two largest economies billions of dollars, disrupted supply chains and rattled financial markets.”

Reuters says that while “those issues are still on the table…U.S. officials say privately that an enforcement mechanism for a deal and timelines for lifting tariffs are sticking points.”

The AP reports Mnuchin “says he and other negotiators for the Trump administration should know this week or next whether they can reach a trade deal with China – or whether it’s time to ‘move on.’”

A Chinese team is scheduled to visit Washington next week for another round of talks.

The piece notes that, during their previous rounds of trade talks, Mnuchin said the two sides have “made a lot of progress,” but “we still have more work to do.”

Bloomberg reports, “While both sides are eager to reach an agreement, the possibility remains that President Donald Trump would walk away from the negotiating table with China if he isn’t satisfied with how talks are progressing, according to a senior Trump administration official.”