Treasury Secretary Scott Bessert insisted on Monday that Skittish Global Business Leaders ignores the economic NO -tellers of President Trump on Monday and to increase investments in the United States, which will make an economic agenda that warn economic growth and will aggravate inflation.
Speaking with managers, entrepreneurs and policymakers, Mr Bessent argued that the economic plans of the Trump administration go beyond trade policy and are bearing fruit in the long term. With them, he also focused on concentrating on Mr Trump’s plans to lower taxes and regulations that he said would stimulate job creation and output.
“Rates are designed to encourage companies such as yours to invest directly in the United States,” Mr Bessent said in comments at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. “You will be happy that you have done that – not only because we have the most productive workforce in the world. But because we will soon also have the most favorable tax and regulatory environment.”
His comments came only a few hours after Mr. Trump Ordered new rates for foreign film producersA decision that surprised many in Hollywood about how such a tax would work.
The Minister of Finance has worked to facilitate concern among investors that Mr Trump’s trading plans will destabilize the world economy. Last month, the President delivered rates in countries around the world and escalated a trade fight with China, causing the financial markets to fall.
Since then, Mr Bessent has been racing to negotiate trade agreements with dozens of countries. He also indicated that the China rates are not sustainable and hopes that Mr Trump would soon start negotiations to lower them.
“Our goal with trade policy is to level the playing field for our great American employees and companies,” Mr Bessent said.
Managers remain sharp about the Lukrake approach of the Trump administration to determine trade policy.
Mr Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday evening that he led his government agencies “to immediately start setting up a 100% rate for all films that come in our country that are produced in foreign countries.” On Monday, however, a spokesperson for the White House said that “no definitive decisions about foreign film rates were made” and that the administration is still considering its options.
Despite the calls of Mr Bessent to take investors to take a longer term on the US economy, managers of the Milken Institute meeting made it clear that the rates took a real toll.
“What we hear from customers is that they are preparing for a headwind,” said Jan Fraser, the Chief Executive of Citigroup, who noticed that some companies went forward, some delayed the investments and were all more careful while they were waiting to see how the Trump administration went with its tariff plans.
Harvey Schwartz, the Chief Executive of the Carlyle Group, said that a trade war between the United States and China was problematic for the world economy and that the rates have experienced part of the enthusiasm about the economic agenda of Mr. Trump that is common when he took over in January.
“I think we came in the year and there was an extremely high expectation and momentum and everything was a kind of pro-growth,” said Mr. Schwartz in a panel discussion after Mr Bessent’s comments. “And I think that people with the tariff policy were simply a bit confused and uncertain, because it felt like such a shift dramatic in the policy.”
He added: “This is a policy initiative that we have never seen before.”
Mr. Bessent has tried to switch the policy discussion to tax cuts, which he predicted could pass the congress at the beginning of July.
The Trump government works closely with congress republicans on tax legislation that would extend the tax cuts of 2017 and offer new tax benefits for overtime, tips and social security benefits. Mr Bessent said that the account tax credits and deductions for research and innovation would include to stimulate investments in high-tech activities and tax stimuli for purchasing equipment and building factories.
Mr Bessent made the case on Monday that investors should consider the wider agenda when they think about where to park their money.
Describing Mr. Trump’s policy as “mutually reinforcing,” said Mr Bessent, “acting in concert, they push to the same goal – to strengthen our position as the home of global capital.”
Investors have become increasingly wary in recent months for Mr Trump’s policy, with shares, bonds and the dollar that all show signs of weakness while fund managers are concerned about the uncertainty surrounding Mr Trump’s policy approach.
The International Monetary Fund expected last month that the global output would slow down to 2.8 percent of 3.3 percent in 2024 this year and greatly reduced its prospects for the American economy.
On Monday, Mr Bessent said that Mr. Trump would prove “critics in established circles” wrong.
“We have the world’s reserve currency, the deepest and most liquid markets and the strongest property rights,” said Mr Bessent. “For these reasons, the United States is the most important destination for international capital.”
- Advertisement -
