Al Sharqiya

WASHINGTON-ALSHARQIYA Oct. 14 : US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin said on Monday an additional round of import duties on Chinese imports would likely be imposed on December 15 unless a trade deal with Beijing is reached by then, but he expected the two sides to reach an agreement. "If there is no agreement, it will be charged, but I expect we will reach an agreement," Mnuchin told CNBC in an interview when asked about a round of fees due on Dec. 15. US President Donald Trump said on Friday that China and the United States had reached the first stage of a trade deal involving agriculture, currency and some aspects of intellectual property protection and would ease mutual trade restrictions imposed 15 months ago, but officials from both sides said more work was needed to finalize. Trump also acknowledged that the deal could collapse. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Friday that Trump had not made a decision on the tariffs set in December. Mnuchin said more trade negotiations would be held at different levels in the coming weeks, including a telephone conversation with Whitehair and Deputy Prime Minister Liu He and talks between the two. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.