U.S. officials see EU, British trade deals in 2020, not India

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U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in several television interviews that they expected to finalize agreements with those allies in 2020.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he hoped to finalize a pact with Europe before he faces reelection in November.

“The president is very focused on trade and he’s very focused on Europe,” Mnuchin, speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, told CNBC, adding that a meeting between U.S. and European officials this week was “good.”

“We’re very focused on a UK free trade agreement, which we hope to get done this year as well,” Mnuchin added.

Ross, speaking on Fox Business Network, echoed that sentiment on the timeline but said it was more complicated working with the EU, given the number of countries involved.

“Our working assumption is that it will not fail and that we will make a deal with them,” Ross said, referring to the EU.

On India, Ross said that while the United States was eager to cooperate with the country and was in discussions, with more talks likely, a pact was unlikely in 2020.

“I very much doubt that would occur this year,” he told Fox Business Network.