U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox Business interview that the escalation from China was unfortunate. He downplayed the impact of China’s retaliatory tariffs, noting that U.S. exports to China are much smaller than Chinese imports to the U.S., and remarked “So what?” if China raises tariffs. Bessent warned that while no one wins in a trade war, the damage to China will be far worse.
The official also highlighted growing interest in trade dialogue from regional partners, saying that Japan, South Korea, and India want to come to the U.S. for talks and that Vietnam is arriving today. He added that the UK is also seeking tariff relief. According to Bessent, it’s a positive sign that countries surrounding China all want talks with the U.S.
U.S. Treasury Secretary also warned China against currency devaluation, suggesting that such a move would force everyone to raise tariffs to offset devaluation.
When asked about the possibility of removing Chinese ADRs from U.S. exchanges, Bessent stated that “everything is on the table.” Regarding the threat of China selling U.S. Treasuries, he noted it works against Beijing's purposes because if they dump Treasuries they have to buy something else.