Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, facing some pointed questions about the two-day stock market crash that followed President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement this week.
During the interview, Bessent told host Kristen Welker that Trump’s sweeping levies were necessary and pushed back at warnings of a recession.
“I see no reason that we have to price in a recession,” he said.
“What we’re looking at is building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity,” he added.
Pressed whether Trump’s latest barrage of tariffs would be permanent or whether they were simply a negotiating tactic, Bessent said Trump had “created maximum leverage for himself” and that over 50 countries were trying to negotiate the duties.
“More than 50 countries have approached the administration about lowering their non-tariff trade barriers, lowering their tariffs, stopping currency manipulation,” he said, adding that any talks would take time.
Elsewhere in the interview, Bessent attempted to reassure Americans concerned about the potential impact to their retirement plans.
The Treasury Secretary said it was a “false narrative” that people looking to retire in the near future may be apprehensive about doing so after their retirement savings may have taken a hit in the stock market this week.
“Americans who want to retire right now, the Americans who put away for years in their savings accounts, I think they don’t look at the day-to-day fluctuations,” Bessent said.
“In fact, most Americans don’t have everything in the market,” he continued. “The reason the stock market is considered a good investment is because it’s a long-term investment. If you look day to day, week to week, it’s very risky.”
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Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on Wednesday, and a baseline 10% rate on trading partners came into effect on Saturday. Some nations, such as Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, are set to face far higher rates that are set to begin on April 9.
Vietnam said on Sunday that it was prepared to negotiate to remove all tariffs on US goods as it seeks to delay the 46% levy on Vietnamese imports set out by the Trump administration.
A special envoy from Vietnam will head to the US to continue talks on the matter, a senior Vietnamese official said, according to a government press release.
