Washington (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned countries Wednesday against closer alignment with China on trade, as he defended President Donald Trump’s move to remake the world’s biggest economy through market-shaking tariffs. Bessent told a summit of bankers in Washington that economies potentially eyeing closer ties with Beijing over the US shift may want to think twice, saying “that would be cutting your own throat.”
“They just keep producing and producing, dumping and dumping, and it’s going somewhere,” he added. Bessent’s remarks came hours after Trump’s fresh tariffs on dozens of countries — including many US allies — kicked in, and shortly after Beijing unveiled equally steep counter tariffs. Trump’s latest action took new US tariffs on Chinese products this year to a staggering 104 percent, piling atop earlier duties.
Shortly after the levies took effect, US government bonds saw a sharp sell-off, despite usually being seen as a safe financial asset in uncertain times, as investors priced in a likely US recession and sought to cover losses on equity markets. For now, Bessent said he is gearing up for talks with around 70 partners, adding that Trump could probably reach tariff deals with US allies. “And then we can approach China as a group,” he added.
The Treasury chief stressed that Trump’s country-specific tariff levels are “a ceiling” if governments did not retaliate, suggesting Trump would hold off from further hikes if he did not face pushback. Bessent said China chose to escalate the situation. Despite financial market upheaval, he added that the US economy remained “very solid” and in “pretty good shape.”
– ‘Main Street’s turn’ – Bessent also said the Treasury Department would work on reforms involving bank regulation. “Wall Street has grown wealthier than ever before, and it can continue to grow and do well,” he told the American Bankers Association’s Washington Summit. “But for the next four years, the Trump agenda is focused on Main Street. It’s Main Street’s turn,” Bessent added, referring to smaller businesses, investors, and institutions.
“For too long, financial policy has served large financial institutions, at the expense of smaller ones. No more,” the former hedge fund manager added. The Trump administration has been pursuing an economic policy, including tariffs, with a stated aim of transforming the US economy by boosting domestic industrial sectors and pushing for deregulation. Bessent flagged the need as well to ensure that Trump’s tax cuts from his first presidency did not expire, saying this would help support the economy.
© 2024 AFP
