During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" this week, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the American public should take what President Trump says "very literally," when he decides to speak out on a specific issue.

"I think most of the time you should take it very literally. I think sometimes he says things that are meant to be a joke," Mnuchin told host Chris Wallace.

"Obviously the comment recently on 'the chosen one,' that was said tongue in cheek," he continued. "That wasn’t meant to be a serious comment. I think most people know the president is serious about China and trade... He’s trying to correct something that’s gone on for the last 20 years."

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Mnuchin also addressed concerns about the U.S. economy's stagnation and said America will ultimately serve as a catalyst for global growth.

"The single biggest thing that everybody is talking about here in France is the U.S. economy. It's the bright spot of the world," he said.

"We have growth. People are now talking about doing tax cuts and cutting regulations in Europe, so people are looking at the Trump economic policies and wanting to replicate them because that’s the reason we have all this growth."

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Mnuchin said the only area of volatility is trade and claimed the White House remains optimistic about a fair trade deal with China, to help stabilize markets and shore up consumer confidence.

"As it relates to uncertainty, there’s only one area, and that’s trade," he said. "We're close to having a major announcement with Japan. We expect to have USMCA passed in the next month or two... These trading relationships are going to add significantly to [our] growth and we're still somewhat hopeful that China will come around."