Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday promoted President Trump’s tariff plan as an overdue mission to make global trade fairer and combat China’s flood of cheap exports.
Mr. Bessent struck a collaborative tone as part of a wide-ranging speech in Washington, where the International Monetary Fund and World Bank are conducting spring meetings.
“I wish to be clear — America First does not mean American alone,” he said in a keynote address to the Institute of International Finance. “To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners.”
Mr. Bessent said the U.S. supports the IMF and World Bank but accused them of straying at times from their core mission of economic and financial sustainability.
“I’m not talking about climate change or carbon footprints,” he said.
He also delivered a warning to countries that have been willing to buttress Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“No one who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be eligible for funds earmarked for Ukraine’s reconstruction. No one,” he said.
Investors have sought out Mr. Bessent as a voice of calm as Mr. Trump imposes a blanket 10% tariff on imports and heftier levies on dozens of countries that sell plenty of products to U.S. consumers but don’t buy nearly as much from American producers. Those large reciprocal tariffs have been paused for 90 days to give space for negotiations.
“That status quo of large and persistent imbalances is not sustainable,” Mr. Bessent said.
He said China, in particular, needs a rebalancing. The U.S. wants Beijing to move away from its practice of flooding the world with cheaply made goods, saying it undercuts manufacturing sectors elsewhere.
“Everyone knows it needs to change, and we want to help it change,” Mr. Bessent said. “China can start by moving away from export overcapacity and supporting its own consumers and domestic demand.”
Wall Street is cheering the Trump team’s softer rhetoric on China, which faces a 145% tariff under the White House’s plan. Beijing retaliated by imposing a 125% tariff on U.S. goods.
Mr. Bessent and Mr. Trump in recent days signaled a de-escalation in which negotiations would lower tariff levels.
“There is an opportunity for a big deal here,” Mr. Bessent said. “If China is serious [about] less dependence on export-led manufacturing growth and rebalancing toward a domestic economy … let’s do it together.”
