Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she believes the US should look for ways to further “de-escalate” tensions with China, though it would be premature at this stage to eliminate the US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
“It would be useful to look for ways to de-escalate over time,” Yellen told reporters Sunday during a press conference in Gandhinagar, India, where she’ll meet with counterparts from around the world this week.
The Treasury chief said that the US is nearing completion of a four-year review of the tariffs imposed on China, and that she had discussed the issue during her recent trip to Beijing.
“But I would say that the tariffs were put in place because we had concern with unfair trade practices on China’s side — and our concerns with those practices remains,” she said. “So perhaps over time this is an area where we could make progress, but I would say it’s premature to use this as an area for de-escalation, at least at this time.”
Yellen is in India for gathering this week of finance ministers and central bank governors from G-20 countries.
