1 of 9 | Scott Bessent testifies at a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing as his husband, John Freeman (background), looks on at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI |
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Jan. 16 (UPI) -- President-elect Donald Trump's Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent favors imposing tariffs on China, sanctions on Russia and making 2017 tax cuts permanent.
Members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee undertook Bessent's confirmation hearing on Thursday.
Bessent told the committee members the Trump tax cuts of 2017 are the "single most important economic issue of the day," NPR reported.
"This is a pass-fail," Bessent said. "If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend [them], then we will be facing an economic calamity."
He said not extending the tax cuts that commonly are referred to as the "Trump tax cuts" would create an "economic calamity" and "financial instability that falls on the middle and working class."
The 2017 tax cuts are scheduled to expire in 2025, but Bessent wants them made permanent to bolster the nation's economy and help its middle class and working class.
However, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was among Democrats who suggested the potential effect of extending tax cuts would increase the nation's deficit.
The non-partisan Committee for Responsible Federal Budget has said extending the 2017 tax cuts would increase the national debt by more than $4 trillion over the next decade, NPR reported.
"We want a tax code that gives everyone in America a change to get ahead," Wyden told Bessent. "There's a long way to go to get it done."
Bessent also expressed support for imposing tariffs on Chinese-made goods sold in the United States.
He said China is in a recession, has an "unbalanced" economy and is trying to fix its economy by exporting goods around the world.
Imposing tariffs on Chinese-made goods would benefit U.S. workers by balancing trade with China and supporting U.S. manufacturing jobs, he said.
"Free trade must also be balanced against fair trade, and clearly what has happened is the trade has not been fair," Bessent said of U.S. trade relations with China.
"That has fallen on American workers," he said. "China is the most unbalanced economy in the world" and "attempting to export their way out of that."
Bessent also promised to support additional sanctions against Russia, especially regarding oil.
"If President Trump requests [sanctions] as part of his strategy to end the Ukraine war, I will be 100% on board from taking sanctions up, especially on the Russian oil majors to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table," Bessent said.
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., asked Bessent if any of Trump's economic policies might increase inflation. Bessent said they would not.
Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo commended Bessent on his candor during the almost three-hour confirmation hearing.
"Your background, your training, everything is tailor-made for this role," Crapo said of Bessent's nomination as Treasury secretary.
Bessent is the CEO of Key Square Group, a hedge fund he founded in Connecticut after playing an executive role with Soros Fund Management. He has been a supporter of Trump's deregulation push, increasing energy production and cutting taxes.
"Scott has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda," Trump said of Bessent in a previous statement.
"On the event of our great country's 250th anniversary, he will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the world's leading economy, center of innovation and entrepreneurialism, and destination for capital," Trump said.
If confirmed as Treasury secretary, Bessent would become the first openly gay member of a Republican presidential cabinet.
Bessent's spouse, John Freeman, and their two children attended the confirmation hearing.