US Treasury Nominee Scott Bessent Hints at Reviving Trade Talks with China

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Scott Bessent, the nominee for US Treasury Secretary under Donald Trump, expressed a willingness to restart trade negotiations with China. He defended Trump's tariff policy as a strategic tool for gaining leverage in negotiations.

Bessent emphasized the need for China to purchase more American goods, suggesting a potential trade agreement similar to the 'phase one' deal from Trump's first term.

He also highlighted the importance of maintaining the US dollar as the world's reserve currency and called for rigorous screening of outbound high-tech investments to secure supply chains and bolster America's competitive edge against China.

Bessent remarked, "As a skilled negotiator, [Trump] believes that we’ve probably gotten over our skis on sanctions, and that sanctions may be driving countries out of the use of the US dollar. So the tariffs can be used for negotiations."

Trump has long maintained that tariffs can help bring back manufacturing and jobs to the US while also assisting in reducing the federal deficit. During his campaign, he proposed using tariff revenues to replace income taxes.

In 2018, Trump initiated tariffs on over $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, pressuring Beijing to sign the phase-one deal, which required China to purchase an additional $200 billion in American goods and services over two years.