By Shawn Donnan
[stock-market-overview width=”100%” allowSort=”true” includeChart=”true” logoMaxHeight=”60px” logoMaxWidth=”90px” height=”100%” culture=”English-US”]US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday struck a defiant tone in the face of global financial markets selling off sharply in response to new US tariffs, arguing the duties were necessary and rejecting the idea that they would cause a US recession.
“I see no reason that we have to price in a recession,” Bessent told NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.
Bessent — along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House trade czar Peter Navarro in separate comments — gave no indication that President Donald Trump was willing to back down on the sweeping new tariffs he introduced last week. He said more than 50 countries had called the administration seeking negotiations, but any talks are going to take time.
From the US perspective, other countries “have been bad actors for a long time,” Bessent said, adding that the issues could not be negotiated away in a matter of days or weeks.
“We’re going to have to see what the countries offer and if it’s believable,” he said. “I think we are going to have to see the path forward.”
In the two days following Trump’s tariff announcement, markets shed $5.4 trillion in value and dragged down the S&P 500 to the lowest level in 11 months.
Bessent dismissed the market carnage as short-term reactions by “organic animals.”
“We get these short-term market reactions from time to time.” Bessent added. “The market consistently underestimates Donald Trump.”
Read More: Wall Street Gets Shock as Bessent Plays Second Fiddle on Tariffs
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