Mnuchin: US partners more comfortable with Trump on trade

BARI, Italy — U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that major trading partners are “much more comfortable” with the Trump administration’s stance on trade and tax policy and understand that they will benefit from the intended U.S. growth.

Mnuchin spoke after face-to-face meetings with major trade partners such as Germany, Japan and Canada on the sidelines of the Group of Seven finance ministers’ meeting in Bari, Italy.

The meeting focused on finance and security issues such as keeping multinationals from dodging taxes and a collective response to cybercrime like the ransomware attack that hit dozens of countries on Friday.

A broader theme not on the written agenda, however, was the desire of foreign leaders to get a better read on Trump’s policies, and U.S. officials desire to make their positions clear. Trump has vowed to press for trade that is fair as well as open and benefits U.S. workers and has focused on bilateral, or country-to-country, relations.

Mnuchin said that after meetings in Bari and a broader finance summit in Baden-Baden, Germany in March, “people feel a level of comfort” in understanding the Trump administration policies. He said counterparts understand that “we don’t want to be protectionist, but we reserve our right to be protectionist to the extent we believe trade is not free and fair.”

Mom of Ohio boy who killed himself vows he “will be heard”

CINCINNATI — The mother of an 8-year-old Ohio boy who killed himself after she says he was bullied at school pledges to speak out on his behalf.

Cornelia Reynolds said in a Friday statement that her son Gabriel Taye’s voice “will be heard” and she urges parents to tell their children to seek help if they are being hurt.

“It is my obligation to make sure that this will never happen again,” she said. “No, this will not go away. People need to know the truth and help fix this epidemic in our society by spreading awareness and speaking up.”

Reynolds’ attorneys say she didn’t learn her son was bullied until they saw an email written by a Cincinnati police detective that describes the scene outside a boys’ bathroom, where the attorneys say Gabriel was knocked unconscious. He hanged himself two days later at his home.

The Cincinnati school district says the boy told staff he had fainted and never said he had been bullied or assaulted.

By wire sources