The gossip on Wall Street is that Bessent and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had to tell Trump that the bond vigilantes were net sellers of both U.S. Treasury bonds and th

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leveled harsh criticism at the operations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday even as he tried to reassure nervous investors that the United States would maintain its global leadership role.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that he believes that excessively high tariffs between the U.S. and China will have to come down before trade negotiations can proceed but said President Donald Trump would not unilaterally cut tariffs on Chinese imports.

President Trump hasn’t offered to take down U.S. tariffs on China on a unilateral basis, Bloomberg News quoted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as saying. Bessent answered questions from reporters Wednesday,