The next is the transcript of an interview with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 2, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning to you, Mr. Treasury Secretary.
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Good morning Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So let’s dig on- in on this, as a result of it appears there is a little bit of a notion hole there. Our polling additionally exhibits a minimum of half the nation reviews concern about paying for meals and groceries and housing. They proceed to name the economic system unhealthy, much more so than final month, and 49% instructed us the economic system is getting worse. When can Individuals count on to expertise the advantages that President Trump stated can be coming in day one?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: You already know, Margaret, what I discover fascinating is, for the previous 12 months and a half, and through the marketing campaign, many of the media stated, Oh, the economic system is nice. It is only a vibe session. Now that President Trump’s in workplace, there’s an financial downside. And I am going to let you know what the issue was–
MARGARET BRENNAN: We had been fairly simple on this program.
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Properly, I have never seen this program, however the- usually, this concept that working class Individuals did not know what they had been speaking about, they did not know their lived expertise, they did not know what their pocketbooks had been feeling. And I let you know, President Trump was elected, one of many causes was the affordability disaster, and we’re setting about doing that. So after 4 years, 4 years of disastrous insurance policies, they had been operating these gigantic deficits that the- that led to the affordability downside, huge authorities rules. So what we had was a requirement shock from the federal government spending that was met by provide constraints with over regulation. So we’re within the strategy of deregulating, which can free the provision aspect, and we’re slicing again the federal government spending. It took 4 years to get us right here. President Trump has been in workplace 5 weeks, and I can let you know, we’re working every single day. What I’ll level out, curiosity rates- a ten 12 months bond, which I’m centered on, have been down each week since President Trump was president. Mortgage charges have been down each week. In order that’s a fairly good begin.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I hear you that typically the information lags actuality, however once we are speaking about individuals’s perceptions of the economic system, it is simply how they’re feeling proper now, we see in our polling, 52% of Individuals say Trump’s insurance policies are making grocery costs go up. They explicitly stated that on this bar chart you see there. So it is an expertise and a notion concern. When does that shift? Once we see the advantages of the planning you say is underway?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Look, I believe President Trump stated that he’ll personal the economic system in six or 12 months, however I can let you know that we’re working to get these costs down every single day, nevertheless it took 4 years to get us right here, and we have had 5 weeks so rates of interest are down. That is an excellent begin towards housing affordability, towards auto affordability, and we’re tackling this. At Treasury we’re going to appoint an affordability czar. We’re going to have an affordability Council. We’re laser centered on this–
MARGARET BRENNAN: What does that imply? What’s an affordability czar?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Somebody who picks the 5 or eight areas the place this administration could make a giant distinction for working class Individuals?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Properly, one of many issues that we hear the President discuss quite a bit is the plan to make use of tariffs. I do know this falls beneath the purview of Commerce and the commerce rep, however you’ve gotten spoken a bit about it earlier than. If the President does roll out the ten% tariffs that he says are approaching China this week, the 25% on Canada and Mexico, how a lot do you suppose they’ll influence what Individuals expertise? The Peterson Institute says it’s going to value households a further $1,200 a 12 months.
Speaker 1 SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Look, a few issues I respect my buddies on the Peterson Institute, I believe they are a bit alarmist. I believe plenty of their supporters are anti-tariffs, in order that they take an anti-tariff place. And look, we have now the expertise of President Trump’s first time period, the place the tariffs didn’t have an effect on costs. And it is a holistic strategy, that there can be tariffs, there can be cuts in regulation, there can be cheaper power. So I’d count on that in a short time we can be right down to the Fed’s 2% goal. So I am anticipating inflation to proceed dropping over the 12 months.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So ought to we count on these tariffs to return March 4?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Properly, there is a collection of tariffs. There’s March 4, after which there are the massive the there’s the massive tariff program that is going to be outlined on April 2 by commerce and USTR, and that is the President’s notion of reciprocal tariffs. And that is going to be very path dependent. It is- we’re going to present what are different international locations tariffs on particular items? What are non tariff obstacles? What are the foreign money manipulation, what’s manipulation of financing or labor manipulation, and what are these horrendous fines that the European Union is placing on our tech firms, and we’re going to consider that and provides them a chance to treatment that, so we may both see a ratcheting up in tariffs, or if our buying and selling companions wish to treatment what has been unfair commerce, then we may see the tariffs come off. So it should be path dependent.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And that is Europe in April, primarily?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Properly, that is the world over.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. So if you say the Peterson Institute is just too alarmist, with $1,200 a 12 months on the common family, what’s the price of the family? You suppose it is zero?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Properly, we do not know but, as a result of it is path dependent, however what I can let you know is that I am not fearful about China. China goes to- China pays for the China tariffs, as a result of their enterprise mannequin is exporting their approach out of this inflation. They’re essentially the most imbalanced, unbalanced economic system in trendy instances, and the concept that due to a tariff, that they might decrease their manufacturing is improper. They’re going to proceed flooding the market. They are going to eat this worth lower. They are going to eat any tariffs that go on.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So I noticed you say on Bloomberg just lately that Mexico has supplied to match the US tariffs on China, and that you prefer to for the Canadians to take action as properly. You described it as a fortress in North America. Is that within the works?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: I do not know but. We’ll see the Mexican management has supplied to do this. We have not heard from the Canadians, however I believe that will be an excellent begin, because-
MARGARET BRENNAN: By Tuesday, probably to offset the potential punishment on them?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: By Tuesday, or perhaps the tariff wall goes up, after which we see what occurs from there. However I can let you know that beneath the duvet of COVID, China dramatically elevated their export capability, and they’re making an attempt to export their approach to prosperity. They’re in an financial disaster. They’ve gigantic deflation, and it is unacceptable for them to export that to the remainder of the world. And I believe North America can be an excellent begin for pushing again in opposition to this unfair commerce coverage.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Properly, that will be a big growth.
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Very vital.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Which might keep away from tariffs which might be presupposed to exit on Tuesday.
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: We’ll see.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, we’ll be watching that area. I wish to ask you about Ukraine. You had been in that Oval Workplace assembly that went sideways on Friday. He- President Zelensky, was instructed to depart the White Home earlier than he signed the minerals settlement that I do know you’ve gotten been engaged on, he stated yesterday, although he is able to signal it, he referred to as it step one in the direction of safety ensures. It is not sufficient. We want extra than simply that. A stop hearth with out safety ensures is harmful for Ukraine. Is the deal nonetheless on the desk, or has President Trump instructed you to drop the venture?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Margaret, it’s not possible to have an financial deal with no peace deal. The sine qua non for an financial deal, is that Ukrainian management desires a peace deal.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I believed this was a constructing block in the direction of attending to
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Properly, it was presupposed to be, however President Zelensky got here into the Oval on Friday. There have been, there have been three issues that had been going to be achieved. There was going to be a press convention, there’s going to be a non-public lunch with 16 of us, and as you’ll be able to see from Dan Scavino’s, the publish on his X account, we had been all prepared set as much as signal, to signal the deal. So it is unclear now, President Zelensky has thrown off the sequencing, and Margaret, let me let you know essentially the most tragic a part of this the President Trump’s concept for this financial association was to additional intertwine the American individuals and Ukrainian individuals and present no daylight. To point out the Russian management that there was no daylight, and President Zelensky got here into the Oval Workplace and tried to relitigate in entrance of the world the deal. And we had been going- the place to have achieved it might have been within the non-public lunch.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, properly, it is information to me that this was that the sequencing is shifting, that you just had been saying you must conform to a peace deal earlier than the minerals settlement? There aren’t even negotiations for a peace deal anyway.
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Properly initially, it isn’t a minerals settlement. It is a common financial settlement. So calling it a minerals settlement is wrong, and I believe we have now to see if President Zelensky desires to proceed, what’s- what is the use in having an financial settlement that is going to be rendered moot if he desires the preventing to proceed. President Trump desires a peace deal. .
MARGARET BRENNAN: Vladimir Putin, it is unclear if he desires a peace deal, although there are not any negotiations underway. The Secretary of State stated that on one other community this morning.
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Yeah, and President Trump- President Trump has stated that President Trump is making an attempt to maneuver in the direction of peace. He stated repeatedly during- throughout that episode within the Oval we do not know if we’ll get a peace deal, however we bought to strive.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Final Sunday, President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, stated on one other community that the plan for negotiations was the so-called draft Istanbul protocol. The Institute for the Examine of Conflict, says that this would depart Ukraine helpless within the face of future Russia– Russian threats or aggression, if, if that is described because the Way forward for Us diplomacy and the framework. Why is not Mr. Zelensky asking the best query when he says, How can I conform to a ceasefire with no safety ensures or perhaps a minerals settlement or funding settlement with out safety ensures?
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Properly, look, I believe the plan is for the European Union to supply this safety, not NATO, the European Union. And once more, the tragedy of Friday, and I do not know what President Zelensky was considering. We had President of France, Emmanuel Macron, in on Monday, nice assembly. Then- we had Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday. Improbable assembly. They had been all on board the arc of the peace settlement. All President Zelensky needed to do was are available and signal this financial settlement and once more present no daylight, no daylight between Ukrainian individuals and the American individuals, and he selected to
blow that up.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So the deal is not on the desk, simply to be abundantly clear.
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Not at current.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Treasury Secretary Bessent thanks for coming in right now.
SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Thanks Margaret.