Bessent Says World Should Decouple from 'Unreliable' China

Christopher Smart, managing partner at the Arbroath Group and former National Economic Council official, says that any decoupling between the US and China will cause waves for the global economy as President Trump remains narrowly focused on securing an advantageous trade deal.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed a longer pause on high US tariffs on Chinese goods in return for Beijing putting off its recently announced plan to tighten limits on critical rare earths.

Since earlier this year, the US and China have agreed to 90-day truces on import duties of as high as 145%, with the next deadline looming in November. Now, the Trump administration’s focus is halting the Chinese plan for strict new export controls on rare-earth elements, in part by dangling incentives for the government to drop it and threatening sharp penalties if it doesn’t.

“Is it possible that we could go to a longer roll in return? Perhaps. But all that’s going to be negotiated in the coming weeks,” Bessent said Wednesday during a press conference in Washington.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed a longer pause on high US tariffs on Chinese goods in return for Beijing putting off its recently announced plan to tighten limits on critical rare earths.

Since earlier this year, the US and China have agreed to 90-day truces on import duties of as high as 145%, with the next deadline looming in November. Now, the Trump administration’s focus is halting the Chinese plan for strict new export controls on rare-earth elements, in part by dangling incentives for the government to drop it and threatening sharp penalties if it doesn’t.

“Is it possible that we could go to a longer roll in return? Perhaps. But all that’s going to be negotiated in the coming weeks,” Bessent said Wednesday during a press conference in Washington.

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