We will need to see what the countries offer and if it is credible, says Bessent in NBC's program Meet the Press, reports news agency Bloomberg.
On Wednesday, Trump clarified that very extensive tariffs will be introduced against countries around the world. Since then, the stock exchanges have plummeted globally – and in the US at a pace that can only be compared to the pandemic in 2020 and the IT crash 20 years earlier.
Furthermore, American long-term interest rates and oil prices have fallen, the dollar has weakened, and gold prices have risen.
In addition, several counterparties, including the EU, have not yet released the countermeasures planned – which will further give the impression of a full-scale trade war.
"Decades of bad behavior"
Bessent says that any negotiations with countries that have made contact will take time.
According to the minister, the counterparties have mismanaged their relationship with the US for a long time, and new rules cannot be analyzed and established within a few days or weeks.
After decades of bad behavior, you can't just wipe the slate clean, he says.
At the same time, market anxiety raises new fears that the American economy is heading into a recession – but this is dismissed by Scott Bessent.
I see no reason to price in a recession, he says.
Bessent messaged
According to sources to Bloomberg, Trump's tariff decision got finance top executives on Wall Street to turn directly to Bessent. He is said to have received a multitude of SMS from finance chiefs and hedge fund managers urging him to convince Trump to change his mind.
Bessent – with a background on Wall Street where he worked for financier George Soros – is said to have had a behind-the-scenes role in planning ahead of the tariff drama.
According to a source, Bessent only assessed a range of different market scenarios for the economy based on different proposed tariff levels.
