Trump's Treasury Secretary issues blistering six-word warning to countries threatening tariff revenge
SUMMARY
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dropped a blunt warning Tuesday night—don’t freak out over President Trump’s new tariff blitz, or you’ll regret it. After Trump rolled out his “Liberation Day” plan on April 1, slapping a 10% baseline tariff on all imports starting April 5 (with heftier hits like 34% on China and 25% on foreign cars), markets took a nosedive. The S&P 500 futures tanked 2%, and Nasdaq slid 3%—worst drops since the pandemic kicked off. Bessent, cool as ever on CNN, urged everyone to “sit back, take a deep breath,” saying rash retaliation would just spark a trade war spiral. “We’re the deficit country—we’ve got the upper hand,” he argued, nodding to history. Trump’s calling it an economic independence flex, aiming to rake in billions while shaking up a global trade setup he says has “looted” the U.S. Bessent hinted the tariffs might not stick forever—“we’ll see how it plays out”—but with nations like Canada and the EU already grumbling about pushback, the vibe’s tense.
