20.05.201820:11:00UTC+00U.S. Puts Trade War with China On Hold

The U.S. has pulled away from the verge of a trade war with China after Washington stopped its plans to impose levies on up to $150 billion of imports, according to the U.S. Treasury secretary.

In a television interview on Sunday, Steven Mnuchin said that Washington is putting the trade war 'on hold'.

The announcement from President Donald Trump's lead negotiator in trade talks come following a joint statement released by the U.S. and China on Saturday. In the statement, Beijing pledged to “significantly increase” its purchases of American goods and services and both parties said they would continue discussions over trade concerns over the summer.

The published statement did not mention detailed objectives after Chinese negotiators defied a push from the Trump administration to make a commitment to boost purchases by $200 billion per year.

Critics are concerned that the main focus of the Trump administration is achieving Trump's goal of reducing the US annual $337 billion trade deficit with China rather than addressing more challenging structural issues in the Chinese economy.

Mnuchin argued on Sunday that Chinese commitments to tackling the said issues were part of a wider agreement and cautioned that Trump could still impose the tariffs if Beijing did not fulfill its part of the agreement.

He said that the two sides had made significant headway and added that they have reached an agreement to hold off on the tariffs while they attempt to layout the framework.