“I don’t think we’re in a trade war,” Steven Mnuchin said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. “We’re in a situation of trade disputes.” | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo Mnuchin rejects fears that U.S. waging ‘trade war’

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday dismissed fears that the U.S. is waging a global trade war as he was hit with a barrage of questions from nearly every member of a key House committee about the Trump administration's policies.

“I don’t think we’re in a trade war,” Mnuchin said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. “We’re in a situation of trade disputes.”


Still, he said his department is “very much monitoring the impact on the economy” from tariffs and the resulting retaliation.

The administration, which has already slapped penalties on steel and aluminum imports from most of the U.S.' largest trading partners, raised the stakes further with China on Tuesday by publishing a list of another $200 billion worth of goods it’s proposing to target. That's on top of tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods already in the crosshairs.

The majority of lawmakers’ questions on Thursday focused on the possibility that the tariffs on China, Canada and European Union nations could hurt their constituents.

“The Trump administration appears to be flying by the seat of its pants with no plan for how to address the possibility of a recession, the higher prices consumers will pay and the resulting losses of millions of American jobs,” said Maxine Waters of California, the panel's top-ranking Democrat.

Sign up for Morning Trade A speed read on global trade news — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

But committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) also expressed worry that the administration doesn’t seem focused on knocking down barriers to U.S. exports.

Hensarling noted that the renegotiation of the U.S.-South Korea trade deal involved imposing a quota and extending the length of time before U.S. tariffs on Korean trucks phase out. Both of those actions are aimed at decreasing imports rather than increasing exports.

“I appreciate the words, but I am concerned about the deeds,” Hensarling said.

Mnuchin said President Donald Trump is “very focused on free and fair trade,” noting the president's suggestion that countries in the G-7 should remove all barriers to trade.

“There is no specific model for other agreements,” the Treasury chief said.

On China, Mnuchin acknowledged that talks between the two sides had largely “broken down,” but said the administration’s objectives are “pretty clear.”

"To the extent that the Chinese want to make serious efforts to make structural changes, I and the administration are available to discuss those,” he said.

Later in the hearing, he said the administration wants to make sure the Chinese “open up their markets and treat our companies fairly so we can increase our exports.”

Mnuchin declined to comment after the hearing on whether the administration was waiting on the Chinese government to make the first overture toward talks.

On a related front, he said Treasury is already drafting regulations that would implement not-yet-passed legislation giving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States broader scope to restrict investment in U.S. companies for national security reasons. Treasury is the chair of the interagency committee.

The CFIUS bill is expected to pass as part of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act.

“We’ve already started working on drafting regulations,” he said. “We have a team of people that are ready to implement this immediately. So I would hope as soon as this is passed in the early fall we can begin implementing this.”