Treasury Secretary Scott Becent stubbornly defended President Trump's tariffs on Thursday, arguing that trade policy should focus on getting the lowest possible price and more on putting America first.
“Access to cheap products is not the essence of American dreams,” Bescent said in a speech to the economic club in New York. “The American Dream is rooted in the notion that any citizen can achieve prosperity, upward mobility and economic security. For too long, designers of multilateral trade transactions have lost sight of this.”
The harsh tariffs that have been increasingly collected in China since it was implemented earlier this week in Canada and Mexico and stopped earlier this week have shocked investors as economists warn that restrictive policies could reheat inflation.
Despite promises from the White House, shares plummeted on Thursday despite promises to put a 30-day suspension on taxes on most Mexican goods.
“Wall Street is great. Wall Street can keep doing well, but this administration is about Main Street,” Bescent said.
He spoke before the news broke that the suspension also applies to Canada.
“The US will respond as long as other countries' practices do harm to our own economy and our people,” Bescent said. “This is America's first trade policy.”
Bescent also spoke with Larry Kudrow, the first director of the National Economic Council, who hosted the forum, about imposing strict sanctions on Russia to gain leverage in Ukraine.
He said the US would not hesitate to go “everything” about Russian energy sanctions if it would help close the ceasefire contract in the Russian-Ukurein War.
Sanctions against Russia will be “explicitly and actively used for the greatest immediate impact,” Bescent said.
He added that the US will also increase Iran's sanctions and “close” the oil industry using “predetermined benchmarks and timelines.”
“Breaking Iran again will mark the beginning of an updated sanctions policy,” he said.
Data released by the Ministry of Commerce Earlier on Thursday, the country showed a worsening deficit.
Data shows that the US trade deficit skyrocketed 34% from the previous month in January, reaching $131.4 billion as import growth surpassed exports.
Many economists attributed the surge in import activity earlier this year to attempts by US companies to stockpile products manufactured overseas before tariffs came into effect. According to the Wall Street Journal.
“This system is not sustainable,” Bescent said.
The Treasury Secretary also dismissed concerns that taxes would blow inflation, which he said was “not worried.”
White House officials claim that Trump's 2018 and 2019 tariffs did not send high prices during his first term. These tariffs are primarily targeted at steel and aluminum.
In his speech Tuesday to a joint Congressional meeting, Trump said Americans “have to endure” him throughout the “adjusting period.”
Trump's tariffs will serve as a revenue stream that will help ease the country's fiscal deficit and protect workers from unfair global trade practices, Bescent said.
He also said taxes are Trump's negotiation tool as they are trying to pressure neighbors to crack down on illegal fentanyl smuggling and immigration border crossings.
Bessent and Ludlow also discussed the overwhelming government deficit. It reached $840 billion The first four months of 2025.
“It's the last chance bar and grill to get this done,” Bescent said of improving the country's debt. “Everyone knows what they should do. Yes, do they have the will to do that?”
He also argued that the US should look at its banking regulations again and raise some of the rules that are probably being implemented in smaller banks.
