Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said President Trump’s tariffs on China will have “a big impact on the economy,” even after the Dow Jones industrial average had its worst week in more than two years.
“We are careful with what we are doing,” said Mnuchin on Fox News Sunday.
Trump released a plan on Thursday to install $60 billion in trade tariffs on China, which responded by plans for $3 billion in tariffs on U.S. exports and threatened there could be more.
The trade barbs have increased concerns on Wall Street over a potential trade war that may wipe out economic gains. The Dow Jones dropped 724 points on Thursday, the biggest drop since the 2008 financial crisis.
Mnuchin said on Fox News the administration is working with China on how to find an agreement “on what fair trade is.”
“Our shared objective is to reduce the trade deficit [with China],” Mnuchin said. “We are not afraid of a trade war but that is not our objective.”
