Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blasted China’s retaliatory tariff play as a “loser” move on Wednesday, telling FOX Business that the proportionality in the country’s ongoing trade war with the U.S. is much worse on their end.
“It’s unfortunate that the Chinese don’t want to come and negotiate… they have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world, and I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them…” he said on “Mornings with Maria.”
“They are the surplus country,” Bessent continued.
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“Their exports to the U.S. are five times our exports to China. They can raise their tariffs, but so what?”
China increased tariffs on U.S. imports from 34% to 84% in response to President Donald Trump hiking tariffs against the country to 104% at midnight on Wednesday, with Chinese officials vowing to fight “to the end” amid the ongoing trade war.
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The new tariff hike is slated to take effect on Thursday, according to a Wednesday statement from China.
Bessent additionally pressured the U.S. adversary to take measures to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., an issue Trump has highlighted numerous times throughout the trade war during his second term.
“Distributing drugs in China is punishable by death. Why don’t they apply the same standards to the people who are exporting these chemicals to the U.S.?” Bessent asked.
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