Top officials from the Trump administration will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this week, the first formal meeting about trade between the United States and China since President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to triple-digit levels last month. Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, and Jamieson Greer, the United States trade representative, plan to meet with Chinese officials …
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U.S. and China Dig In on Trade War, With No Plans for Formal Talks
As trade tensions flared between the world’s largest economies, communication between the United States and China has been so shaky that the two superpowers cannot even agree on whether they are talking at all. At a White House economic briefing this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demurred multiple times when pressed about President Trump’s recent claim that President Xi Jinping …
Read More »Bessent Takes Tricky Center Stage as Trade Wars Roil U.S. Economy
The traditional gathering of former Treasury secretaries to welcome a newly minted one into the fold is usually a lighthearted and pleasant affair. But when the group convened this month, on President Trump’s “Liberation Day,” the tone was strikingly serious. The dinner, organized by former Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, took place at a moment of tumult for the U.S. …
Read More »‘This is Not Normal’: Trump’s Tariffs Upend the Bond Market
The bedrock of the financial system trembled on Friday, with government bond yields rising sharply as the chaotic rollout of tariffs shook investors’ faith in the pivotal role played by the United States in the financial system. U.S. government bonds, known as Treasuries because they are issued by the U.S. Treasury, are backed by the full faith of the American …
Read More »Inside Trump’s Reversal on Tariffs: From ‘Be Cool!’ to ‘Getting Yippy’
For the past week, President Trump has been urging calm in the face of the financial chaos that he created and resisting calls for him to rethink his approach. “I know what the hell I’m doing,” he told Republicans on Tuesday as the massive tariffs he had imposed sent global markets into a tailspin. “BE COOL!” he said in a …
Read More »U.S. Could Run Out of Cash by July, Analysis Finds
The United States could run out of cash to continue paying its bills by mid-July if Congress does not take action to raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, according to an analysis on Monday by the Bipartisan Policy Center. That deadline, known as the “X-date” — the moment when the United States is unable to meet its financial obligations …
Read More »What Privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Means
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two giant mortgage finance firms, have been controlled by the federal government for nearly 17 years, but a long-dormant idea of making them private businesses is starting to make the rounds in Washington again. Scott Turner, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said in an interview this week that coordinating the effort to privatize …
Read More »Trump Chose 8 Economic Experts Who Will Defend Tariffs and Lower Taxes
President-elect Donald J. Trump has moved beyond the team-of-rivals approach from his first term and chosen economic aides who will defend tariffs and tax cuts. President-elect Donald J. Trump put economic policy at the center of his campaign and, in assembling his economic team, has turned to a group of Wall Street executives, economists, lawyers and academics to help carry …
Read More »01 After Fierce Lobbying, Treasury Sets Rules for Billions dollars in Hydrogen Subsidies
The Biden administration on Friday made final its long-awaited plan to offer billions of dollars in tax credits to companies that make hydrogen, in the hopes of building up a new industry that might help fight climate change. When burned, hydrogen mainly emits water vapor, and it could be used instead of fossil fuels to make steel or fertilizer or …
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