There is no question that there is a slowdown in the United States' economy when it comes to Europe and China, but overall, the economy remains "quite strong," and there are no indications of a looming recession, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Tuesday.
"We still see tremendous investment in capital and human investments," Mnuchin told Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria" anchor Maria Bartiromo.
The combination of tax reform, regulatory relief, and trade are still having a strong impact, the secretary said.
"There are people who expect a slowdown," said Mnuchin. "I would comment a year ago, the projections were 2 ½ percent, and we were at 3 (percent). We feel very comfortable we're going to hit 3 percent for last year, and we think there's still a very good case for 3 percent this year."
The administration also could not be more pleased with the new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, the USMCA, and is looking forward to Congress passing it quickly, said Mnuchin.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump will be involved with at the end of the upcoming trade talks with China, said Mnuchin, but he has not made a decision on whether to drop tariffs.
He does want reciprocal free trade, said Mnuchin, as the administration's objective is to ensure U.S. companies can do business fairly in China, not slow down that country's economic growth.
He added that U.S. charges against telecommunications giant Huawei are a separate issue from the trade talks.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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