U.S. not close to any decision on border tax: Schaeuble

[March 15, 2017]  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Wednesday he was looking forward to the first meeting with his U.S. counterpart Steven Mnuchin on Thursday, adding he did not expect him to come to Germany with a closed mind on all matters.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble presents draft budget for 2018 and mid-term plans for state spending until 2021 during a news conference in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Asked about proposals to introduce a U.S. border tax on imports, Schaeuble said that he did not view the new U.S. administration as being close to any decision.

"A country cannot just do this unilaterally," Schaeuble said, adding that he was not expecting a fundamental change in international tax policy, "at least not in the short term".

(Reporting by Gernot Heller and Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.