There is no deadline for the “phase two” China deal, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said while speaking at a CNBC panel during the World Economic in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.
“As it relates to phase two, I would say there’s no deadlines,” Mnuchin told CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore. “So the first issue we’re very focused on the next 30 days is implementing phase one.”
The secretary added that the deal can be concluded before or after the U.S. election in November, suggesting there was no rush to get it done before the vote.
Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, July 15, 2019.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“There’s also, as part of this, a real implementation office as part of enforcement, and we’ll start on phase two,” the secretary added. “If we get that done before the election, great — if it takes longer, that’s fine.”
The comment comes just a day after Mnuchin told press that the long-anticipated trade deal may not remove all of the American tariffs imposed on China.
The U.S. and China officially signed the first phase of the trade deal last week in Washington, D.C. after 22 months of tit-for-tat tariffs and negotiations.