Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, at the IIF Global Outlook Forum during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered the keynote address to the Institute of International Finance in Washington, D.C.
- Bessent's speech came as the Trump administration reportedly weighed cutting steep tariffs on China as part of trade negotiations.
- Bessent told investors in a closed-door meeting Tuesday that he expects "there will be a de-escalation" in President Donald Trump's trade war with China in the "very near future."
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WATCH HERETreasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a keynote address at the Institute of International Finance in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
Bessent's speech came as the Trump administration reportedly weighed cutting its steep tariffs on China, as part of widely expected trade negotiations later this year.
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"China needs to change," Bessent said. "The country knows it needs to change. Everyone knows it needs to change. And we want to help it change — because we need rebalancing, too."
On Tuesday, Bessent told investors in a closed-door meeting that he expects "there will be a de-escalation" in President Donald Trump's trade war with China in the "very near future," CNBC reported.
"No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable" with tariff rates at their current levels, Bessent said at a private investor summit in Washington.
