Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, has warned that a new round of tariffs set for December 15 on $156bn of Chinese goods would be triggered if Beijing failed to seal the limited deal tentatively struck with Donald Trump last week.
Mr Mnuchin’s remarks in an interview with CNBC on Monday highlighted the fragility of the truce reached on Friday in the US-China trade war, despite Mr Trump’s declaration that a “love fest” was suddenly at hand between the world’s two largest economies.
“As can already be seen, this latest pause in escalation will not result in a calm, steady process going forward,” analysts at Beacon Policy Advisors wrote in a note.