Bessent
13 briefs
US and China Trade Barbs Two Weeks Before the Summit. Both Sides Are Building Leverage, Not Trust.
Bessent calls Beijing's new supply chain rules 'provocative' on the same day He Lifeng voices 'solemn concern' over US trade measures. The Trump-Xi meeting is 15 days away.
Zelensky Agreed Three Times, Then Didn't
The $500 billion Ukraine mineral deal has become a negotiation theater where each party is performing commitment for a different audience.
Tariffs Ruled Illegal, Then Hiked to 15%
The Supreme Court struck down Trump's IEEPA tariffs as unconstitutional, so Trump raised them under a different legal theory.
The 90-Day Truce That Changes Nothing
The US and China rolled back their tariff war from 145% and 125% to 30% and 10% respectively. The deal expires in 90 days. Neither side agreed to anything structural.
Bessent Said No. Then Said Yes. The Russia Oil Sanctions Reversal Is Not a Mistake. It Is the Policy.
Two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the Russian oil sanctions waiver would not be renewed, the Treasury renewed it. Ukraine is calling it a betrayal. Russia is calling it cooperation.
The Sanction That Keeps Not Expiring
Three days after Treasury Secretary Bessent said the Russian oil sanctions waiver would not be renewed, Treasury renewed it. The gap between the statement and the action is where US Russia policy actually lives.
The Government Is Refunding $127 Billion in Tariffs. It Plans to Collect Them Again by July.
The Supreme Court said IEEPA tariffs were illegal. CBP opens a refund portal on April 20. Treasury Secretary Bessent says replacement tariffs will be back at roughly the same levels by summer.
Trump Is About to Make Banks the Immigration Police.
An executive order requiring banks to collect citizenship data from all customers would turn the financial system into a deportation tool. Bessent says it's reasonable. Immigrant advocates say it creates an underclass with no safe place to keep money.
The Waiver Is Gone. India Is Next.
Bessent just ended the sanctions relief that let India buy Russian and Iranian oil. He also threatened secondary sanctions on the banks that helped them do it.
Tariffs Struck Down, Tariffs Coming Back
The Supreme Court ruled Trump's emergency tariff powers unconstitutional. The administration is already routing around the ruling.
The IMF Is Describing a Recession. Bessent Is Calling It a Strategy.
The IMF cut global growth forecasts and warned the Iran war could tip the world into recession. The US Treasury Secretary told the BBC the pain is worth it.
The Government Just Told Banks an AI Model Is a Systemic Risk
When the Treasury Secretary and the Fed Chair summon Wall Street CEOs in secret over an AI model's capabilities, they are saying something they cannot say publicly: this technology can already break things we cannot fix.
Coinbase Just Endorsed the Bill It Killed Twice. The Treasury Secretary Made the Ask.
Brian Armstrong spent months blocking the CLARITY Act over stablecoin yield rules that threatened $1.35 billion in Coinbase revenue. After Scott Bessent publicly pushed for it, Armstrong reversed. The yield question is still unresolved.