Latest news with #ScottBessent
Bloomberg
6 minutes ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Summers Backs Bessent on Questioning Fed ‘Overreach'
Lawrence Summers said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is right to question the Federal Reserve's non-monetary policy activities, saying that there were some areas that are distinct from the broader issue of central bank independence. (Source: Bloomberg)
Perth Now
7 minutes ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Sweden to host US, China talks on tariff deadline
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he will meet his Chinese counterpart next week in Stockholm and discuss what is likely to be an extension of an August 12 deadline for a deal to avert sharply higher tariffs. Bessent told Fox Business Network that trade with China was in "a very good place" and the meetings in Sweden would take place next Monday and Tuesday. "I think we've actually moved to a new level with China, where it's very constructive and ... we're going to be able to get a lot of things done now that trade has kind of settled in at a good level," Bessent said. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed in a post on X that Sweden will host the US-China trade talks early next week. "It is positive that both countries wish to meet in Sweden to seek mutual understanding," Kristersson said. Since mid-May, Bessent has met twice with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Geneva and London to work out and refine a temporary trade truce that dialled back duelling triple-digit retaliatory tariffs that threatened to cut off all trade between the world's two largest economies. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang also participated in those talks. In talks so far, China has agreed to end its export ban on rare earth metals and magnets to the US while the US agreed to restart shipments of semiconductor design software and production materials as well as commercial aircraft engines and other goods to China. But the two sides set a 90-day deadline to resolve deeper issues, including US complaints about China's state-led and subsidised export-driven economic model that has created excess manufacturing capacity in China that is flooding world markets with cheap goods. China denies that it subsidises its industries and attributes their export success to innovation. Tariffs could snap back to 145 per cent on the US side and 125 per cent on the Chinese side without a deal or negotiating extension. "We'll be working out what is likely an extension" at the Stockholm talks, Bessent said, adding that US officials would discuss other issues including reducing China's over-reliance on manufacturing and exports. "Hopefully we can see the Chinese pull back on some of this glut of manufacturing that they're doing and concentrate on building a consumer economy," Bessent said. He said he also wants to issue warnings to China about continuing to buy sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil and China's efforts to aid Russia's war against Ukraine. Bessent said that there was bipartisan support in the US Senate for legislation aimed at imposing tariffs of 100 per cent on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, namely China and India. "I'm going to be in touch with my European counterparts. The Europeans that have talked a big game about sanctioning Russia, and it'll be very important for the Europeans to also be willing to put on these high level of secondary tariffs for sanctioned Russian oil." He said that the US was poised to announce "a rash of trade deals" with other countries, and Japan could be among these despite an election setback for Japan's ruling party and difficult negotiations. "I wouldn't be surprised if we aren't able to iron out something with Japan pretty quickly," Bessent said. Nonetheless, he said that for most countries, tariffs would "boomerang" back towards April 2 levels from the current 10 per cent but negotiations on trade deals could continue.
CNBC
19 minutes ago
- Business
- CNBC
Trump China tariff deadline likely to be extended, Bessent says
Key Points Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is likely to hash out an extension of President Donald Trump's upcoming trade deadline with China. Bessent said he will be meeting with his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm, Sweden, next week. The two sides in mid-May agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the heavy tariffs on each others' goods while they continued trade negotiations. The U.S. wants to discuss "the sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil that they're buying there, and what they're doing to aid Russia and a Ukraine war," Bessent said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said he is likely to hash out an extension of President Donald Trump 's upcoming trade deadline with China when he meets with his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm, Sweden, next week. The two sides in mid-May agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the heavy tariffs on each others' goods while they continued trade negotiations. That suspension is set to expire on Aug. 12. But "we'll be working out what is likely an extension" during talks in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday, Bessent said in a Fox Business interview. "I think trade is in a very good place with China," he said. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson later Tuesday morning confirmed that his country would host the latest round of talks between Washington and Beijing. "It is positive that both countries wish to meet in Sweden to seek mutual understanding," Kristersson said on X in a translated post. "The talks primarily concern the relationship between the USA and China, but they also have significant importance for global trade and the economy. Safeguarding rules-based international trade and Sweden's economic interests in a complex global environment is one of the government's top priorities," he said. Bessent said on Fox Business that he hoped the talks would touch on other areas of potential agreement, including getting Beijing to slow the "glut of manufacturing that they're doing and concentrate on building a consumer economy." The U.S. also wants to discuss "the sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil that they're buying there, and what they're doing to aid Russia" in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. "So I think we've actually moved to a new level with China, where it's very constructive," he said. "We're going to be able to get a lot of things done, now that trade has kind of settled in at a good level." That apparent progress follows multiple rounds of discussions that saw the U.S. and China pull back on embargo-level tariffs that threatened to upend two of the world's top trading partners. Trump in April had ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese goods to an effective 145% blanket rate, as Beijing became the top target of the new U.S. administration's efforts to reframe the global trade landscape by wielding import duties against its economic partners. China had retaliated with 125% tariffs on U.S. imports. The two sides agreed to lower their respective tariff rates by 115% after an initial round of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, in May. In a subsequent meeting in London in late June, trade officials from Washington and Beijing affirmed their preliminary agreement.
CNA
35 minutes ago
- Business
- CNA
Trump says Fed chief Powell will be out in eight months
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Jul 22) said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would be out of his role in eight months, calling him a 'numbskull' for keeping interest rates too high and suggesting political motives behind Fed policy. 'I think he's done a bad job, but he's going to be out pretty soon anyway. In eight months, he'll be out,' Trump said during a meeting at the White House with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Powell's term as Fed chair runs until May 15, 2026. Trump did not explain why he believed Powell would leave in mid-March, roughly eight months from now, and Powell has repeatedly stated he will not resign early. RATE PRESSURE Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell for maintaining elevated interest rates despite cooling inflation, arguing they are hindering consumer access to credit. On Tuesday, he reiterated that interest rates should be three percentage points lower than the current level. 'Our economy is so strong now, blowing through everything. We're setting records,' Trump said. 'But you know what? People aren't able to buy a house because this guy is a numbskull. He keeps the rates too high, and is probably doing it for political reasons.' The Federal Open Market Committee meets next week and is widely expected to keep rates steady in the 4.25% to 4.50% range, as officials assess the impact of tariffs on inflation and employment. TREASURY SLAMS FED SPENDING Also at the meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticised the Fed's non-monetary activities, calling for a 'big internal investigation' into its operations. White House officials have questioned the Federal Reserve's US$2.5 billion renovation of two Washington buildings, which they claim are overly lavish. 'The Fed has had big mission creep, and that's where a lot of the spending is going,' Bessent said. 'That's why they're building these new, or refurbishing these buildings, and I think they have got to stay in their lane.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Business
- Reuters
Trump says Fed's Powell will be out in 8 months
WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is a "numbskull" who has kept interest rates too high, but he will be out in eight months, President Donald Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday. "I think he's done a bad job, but he's going to be out pretty soon anyway. In eight months, he'll be out," he said from a meeting at the White House with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Powell's term as Fed chair runs through May 15, and he has repeatedly said he will not leave the post early. Eight months run until mid-March, and it was not immediately clear why Trump picked that time frame. Trump has been hammering at Powell for months for not cutting rates and has frequently raised the possibility of ousting him, while also saying that firing him would be "unlikely." On Tuesday Trump repeated his view that the policy rate should be 3 percentage points lower than it is. The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee meets next week and is nearly universally expected to leave the policy rate in its current range of 4.25%-4.50% as policymakers wait to see how inflation and employment react to tariffs. "Our economy is so strong now, blowing through everything. We're setting records," Trump said. "But you know what? People aren't able to buy a house because this guy is a numbskull. He keeps the rates too high, and is probably doing it for political reasons." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, at the same meeting, trained his sights on the Fed for its non-monetary operations, again calling for a big internal investigation. White House officials have recently raised questions about a $2.5 billion renovation of two Fed buildings in Washington which they say are inappropriately lavish. "The Fed has had big mission creep, and that's where a lot of the spending is going," Bessent said. "That's where, why they're building these new, or refurbishing these buildings, and I think they have got to stay in their lane." The Fed counters that the buildings had severe safety and efficiency shortcomings that needed to be addressed.
