Treasury Sec. Bessent on Trump’s Trade Deals: ‘Strategic Uncertainty Is a Negotiating Tactic’

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday that President Trump is utilizing “strategic uncertainty” as a negotiating tactic in his trade talks with other nations.

Bessent, when asked whether Trump’s sweeping “liberation day” tariffs, announced on April 2, had brought uncertainty to small businesses in the U.S. responded that the trade situation with China and the rest of the world didn’t develop overnight and are being renegotiated.

Bessent explained, “So, if we were to give too much certainty to the other countries, then they would play us in the negotiations. I am confident that, at the ends of these negotiations, both the retailers, the American people, and the American workers will be better off.”

As we review proposals during the 90-day pause, we’re seeing strong commitments from countries to lower tariffs, reduce non-tariff barriers, and rollback harmful practices like currency manipulation and unfair subsidies.

These are constructive steps, but they also raise serious… pic.twitter.com/kIaxMV3XDn

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) May 18, 2025

On April 2, President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on more than 180 countries, followed by the announcement of a 10% baseline rate on April 5 and a higher set of tariffs on April 9 before Trump announced a 90 day pause.

According to Business Insider, those announcements triggered a massive stock market sell-off.

Bessent told host Jake Tapper that the pause didn’t apply to China which saw its tariff rates reach 145% and that the U.S. had reached an agreement with China to reduce their tariffs for 90 days.

The goal, according to Bessent, is not to decouple with China but to open markets and restore balance, especially in non-strategic goods.

Our goal is not to decouple from China, but to open markets and restore balance.

We’ll continue trading with China, especially in non-strategic goods, and at lower tariff levels.

At the same time, we’re focused on reshoring critical industries like medicine, semiconductors, and… pic.twitter.com/iutsNwQXnT

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) May 18, 2025

Bessent also lauded the need to reshore critical industries like medicines, semiconductors and steel in order to protect U.S. national security interests.

The Treasury Secretary also warned that the tariffs will go back up, if other countries fail to reach trade deals with the U.S.