Treasury Department

The Wall Street Journal reports on a phone call that could pave the way for more substantive discussions.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday again decided that China does not meet its definition of a currency manipulator, though its latest report to Congress on the currency practices of major U.S. trading partners says Beijing is of “particular concern” and will remain on a monitoring list along with Japan, South Korea, Germany, India and Switzerland.

The Wisconsin Democrat decries “a roughly $59 billion total trade impact – almost double the approximately $32.5 billion of tariffs the U.S. has levied against Chinese imports under Section 301.”

Proposed changes to duty drawback rules issued by the Treasury Department and Customs and Border Protection are drawing fire from a number of industry groups that fear the new rules would limit companies' ability to recoup paid tariffs and taxes.

The U.S. has asked Beijing for “ministerial-level” talks in either Beijing or Washington, DC, in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“It’s important for them to get this deal, and it’s important for us. I think we’ll be successful, but if we don’t, we’ll move forward with Mexico and then we’ll reach a separate agreement with Canada.”

Mnuchin says it will “strengthen CFIUS and enhance the government’s capacity to protect critical technology while keeping the U.S. open to investment.”

Defense and Treasury officials said “addressing these investments may require legislative action,” the report states.

The House on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Act to expand the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which President Trump suggested might be enough to protect companies in the U.S. from nefarious Chinese investments.