https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/scott-bessent-trade-war-d36022d7?mod=hp_lead_pos2
Wall Street’s Best Hope to End Trump’s Global Trade War Is One of Its Own
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a former hedge-fund manager, is trying to execute one of highest-stakes gambles in modern political and economic history
By Gregory Zuckerman, Josh Dawsey and Alexander Saeedy, The Wall Street Journal, April 11, 2025
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is trying to pull off a macro trade of sorts on Trump’s ability to remake the U.S. economy.
It is one of the riskiest and highest-stakes gambles in modern political and economic history. If Trump’s trade strategy sparks a painful economic downturn, Bessent will share the blame with his boss…
Trump is now giving Bessent a leading role in negotiating with countries…Trump aides said he liked Bessent more than Howard Lutnick [who was appointed Commerce secretary], in part because he thought Bessent was better on TV. [Rolling eyes. – W]…
Bessent and the Trump team were already considering a pivot: building an alliance against China. …
Regardless of how trade negotiations play out, global economies are likely to be left with higher tariffs than at any time in a century, potentially weighing on growth and pressuring inflation.
By Friday, investors were once again dumping key U.S. bonds. [end quote]
It’s impossible to keep politics off the METAR board when the administration is up to their elbows in meddling with the economy. The Treasury Secretary is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policy, participating in the formulation of broad fiscal policies that have general significance for the economy, and managing the public debt.
Recent Treasury Secretaries seemed to focus primarily on domestic economic matters (especially taxation and managing the public debt) rather than international negotiations.
It’s going to be hard to build an alliance with countries who considered themselves allies less than 4 months ago but have been stunned by hostile tariffs and comments from the Trump administration.
Nobody knows what’s going to happen when the Decider in Chief changes his mind practically every day under the influence of advisors who have different agendas.
Trump didn’t renew Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve Chair in 2018 because she was so short. He chose Bessent because he looks good on TV. Heaven help us.
Wendy