"It is fair to say it’s [US tariffs] impacted the Chinese economy, we have not yet seen any impact on the US economy," Mnuchin told Fox Business News.
The secretary pointed out that the US economy does not show signs of recession, while the Chinese currency feels serious pressure from American tariffs.
Mnuchin added both sides had made "a lot of progress" in trade talks, and the United States is prepared to negotiate.
"If we can get a good deal, a deal that’s good for us, we’ll sign it. If not, the president is perfectly fine with continuing the tariffs," he said.
Last month, the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced that it would impose a new batch of 10 and 5 percent tariffs on 75 billion dollar worth of US imports starting from September 1 and December 15 respectively.
Following China's announcement, US President Donald Trump said that the US would respond to China's move by imposing even higher tariffs.
Washington and Beijing have been engaged in a trade conflict for over a year after Trump announced tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports justifying the move by the need to balance the trade deficit. Since then, the two countries have introduced several rounds of reciprocal tariffs.
