Bessent: We want to conclude contracts with allies and face China together

I think we can conclude contracts with America's allies, and then approach conversations with China together – said American finance minister Scott Bessent on Wednesday. He threatened that the movement of Europe towards China would be a “switching on its own throat”.

Speaking about customs during the conference of the American Bankers Association Bankier Association, Bessent with optimism spoke about the possibility of concluding trade agreements with allies. As he said, President Trump had already conducted good talks with the prime minister of Japan and after the President of South Korea, and on Tuesday talks with the Vietnam delegation took place.

“So I think we have about 70 negotiations. I do not plan to go anywhere to Easter (…), and now I will cover the leading negotiating role in many matters of the tariffs, starting with the Japanese delegation,” Bessent said.

He again warned America's partners from retaliation at the duties and stated that so far only China did it (his words were spoken before the announcement of EU customs). He also warned against the return of allies towards China.

“I'm not sure if the prime minister or the Minister of Economy in Spain gave some comments this morning: +Oh, well, maybe we should ally with China +. It would be a slit of your own throat because I can tell you that this US tariff will stop China. And for all of you who remember the Disney movie (“Fantasy” – PAP) about brooms carrying buckets of water, this is a Chinese business model. It never ends. They simply still produce and produce, and throw it (to the markets), and throw it away, and it must go somewhere ” – said the minister.

He added that “At the end of the day we can probably reach an agreement with our allies, with countries that were good military allies (…), and then we can approach China as a group” – he assessed.

Bessent comments – perceived as a supporter of moderation in terms of customs – were positively received by the New York stock exchange.

The minister also warned against the excessive cutting of expenses and budget deficit, warning that this could lead to recession. His words argued a bit with the demands of President Donald Trump, who is in favor of big cuts, even claiming that next year he would completely eliminate the deficit. Meanwhile, Bessent stated that the purpose of the administration in the perspective of several years is to reduce the deficit to 3 percent. GDP.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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