Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned trade partners not to retaliate against the tariffs announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
“I think the mindset is, let’s just see where we are, and then we’ll see how President Trump feels about all this,” Bessent told CNN.
A futures-options trader works as a television displays President Donald Trump speaking on the floor at the American Stock Exchange at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, on April 2, 2025.
Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
“Everybody sit back, take a deep breath,” Bessent said when asked about potential retaliation from abroad. “Let’s see where this goes. Because if you retaliate, that’s how we get escalation.”
“Doing anything rash would be unwise,” Bessent added.
Calls from industry — rather than political — leaders are more likely to win Trump’s ear, Bessent said. “It’s going to be the calls from the industry saying, ‘Okay, how can we get these off?’ And he’s going to say, ‘You can get it off — bring your factory to the U.S.,'” he said.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh and Hannah Demissie
