Treasury Secretary Says After Next Two Rounds of Negotiations, China Deal May Be Done or Abandoned

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo that there's still more work to do on a trade deal with China, but said, "I think there's a real strong desire by both sides to see if we can wrap this up or move on." He said he hopes -- after this week's talks in China and next week's negotiations in Washington -- "to be at the point where we can either recommend to the president we have a deal or make a recommendation that we don't."

Bartiromo, who interviewed White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney at a Milken Institute Global Conference April 30, asked him about that timeline. Mulvaney said the administration does not have deal fever, adding, "We are not going to do a deal for the sake of doing a deal." While he said he couldn't say how long negotiations will go on, he said Mnuchin's estimate of a pivotal two weeks is a fair assessment.

"It won't go on forever. I think at some point, in any negotiation, you realize, 'OK we're close to getting something done so we're going to keep going.' On the other hand, at some point, you just throw your hands up [that] this is never going to get anywhere. I think you'll know, one way or the other, in the next couple of weeks.”