Bessent Expects China to Fulfill Agriculture Purchases
During five hours of testimony, Bessent didn't provide specific details of the trade framework that US officials agreed to with China in London this week, saying 'we are in the midst of constructing' the deal and 'it will be a much longer process'
In his prepared remarks, Bessent credited President Donald Trump's policies for a slowdown in US inflation and said he had challenged a 'decades-old status quo' on trade
The Treasury secretary pushed for passage of the tax bill, arguing it will raise wages and spur manufacturing, and warned that failure to pass the measure and allowing 2017 tax cuts to expire would be 'cataclysmic' and 'a disaster for working Americans'
Bessent said there's a lot of misinformation about section 899 of the tax bill, the so-called revenge tax, citing overseas companies worried that other governments may seek to usurp US tax authority: 'This is a fiscal bill, not a revenge bill,' he said
Bessent said it 'remains to be seen' whether the tax bill will add to the nation's debt, but he pushed back against Democratic lawmaker criticism of the bill, saying, 'I find it very difficult to be lectured to by people who created the largest deficit in history'
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