U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke at the White House in Washington on February 3, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
Finance Minister Scott Bessent said Sunday Donald Trump’s The proposed tariffs are unlikely to raise inflation, partly because China will “eat any ongoing tariffs.”
Bessent’s comments are two days before it is scheduled to take effect on Tuesday. trump card It is expected to be applied 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada. The president also announced that the United States would assume an additional 10% responsibility for the Chinese import commander in addition to the 10% tariff he imposed on the country on February 4.
Some economists Gave people’s attention About the possibility that tariffs may lead to increased inflation Keep interest rates higher until 2026.
Bessent was asked in an interview with CBS’ “Facing the Country” about what impact tariffs have on ordinary families.
“Well, we don’t know yet, because it’s a path-dependent, but what I can tell you is that I’m not worried about China,” Bescent said. “China will pay for tariffs because their business model is exporting this inflation.”
“They will eat any ongoing tariffs,” Bessent added.
Ministry of Commerce of China Said Friday It “stubbornly opposed” Trump’s latest tariff rate hike and vowed to retaliate as needed. After the U.S. issued initial tariffs in February, China introduced tariffs on certain U.S. energy imports and added two U.S. companies to the list of unreliable entities. Experts believe that China can take similar measures again after adding new tariffs.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce previously told CNBC: “If the United States sticks to its own approach, China will take all the necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests.”
Asked on Sunday His comments last week Mexico has proposed matching U.S. tariffs on China to avoid Trump’s tariffs. He also urged Canada to follow Mexico’s proposal.
“We’re going to see. Mexican leaders offer to do this,” Becente said. “We didn’t hear it from Canadians, but I think it’s a good start.”
He added that announcements from these countries could be released Tuesday, “or the tariff wall is added and we see what’s going on there.”
watch: China vows to retaliate as needed after Trump threatens tariff hike
