US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in Reuters interview that outbreak of Wuhan Coronavirus in China is not going to have any material impact on US-China trade deal phase one. He said, “I don’t expect that this will have any ramifications on Phase 1. Based on everything that we know, and where the virus is now, I don’t expect that it’s going to be material.”
Though, he cautioned that “obviously that could change as the situation develops. Within the next few more weeks, we’ll all have a better assessment as there’s more data around the rate of the virus spreading.”
Meanwhile, the outbreak also delays the start of phase two negotiations. But Mnuchin isn’t worried about the time frame for now. “If we get the right deal before the election, that’s great. If we get the right deal after the election, that’s great. We don’t feel any pressure one way or another,” he said.
