US Treasury secretary says EU would 'cut its own throat' if it pivots to China
Scott Bessent has cautioned the European Union against forging closer ties with Beijing at the detriment of its relationship with Washington. The US Treasury Secretary remarked that the EU would be “cutting its own throat” if it pursues a tighter...
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Scott Bessent has cautioned the European Union against forging closer ties with Beijing at the detriment of its relationship with Washington.
The US Treasury Secretary remarked that the EU would be “cutting its own throat” if it pursues a tighter alignment with China while weakening its connections with the United States. Bessent's comments came on Wednesday, following Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's call for a reevaluation of the EU’s trade dynamics with China earlier that day. During a diplomatic visit to Asia, Sanchez suggested that the EU could gain from enhanced collaboration with China amidst uncertainties regarding US trade policies and President Donald Trump’s recent efforts to raise tariffs on nearly all trade partners.
“Nobody wins with a trade war. Every country loses,” Sanchez cautioned.
Bessent defended Trump’s tariff initiatives and urged partners not to align themselves with Beijing, asserting that China’s trade policies could devastate the global economy.
“The economic minister in Spain made some comments this morning, ‘Oh, well, maybe we should align ourselves more with China’ – that would be cutting your own throat," he expressed at a press briefing. “These Chinese exports that the US tariff wall is gonna keep out… the Chinese business model… it never stops. They just keep producing and producing and dumping and dumping.”
On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for 75 countries that had previously faced duties ranging from 10% to 50% due to what he called unfair trade imbalances, reducing these duties to a flat 10% for all nations except China. Instead, he increased the tariff on China to 125%, citing Beijing’s recent tariff hike on US goods that reached 84% as an escalation.
“In terms of escalation, unfortunately, the biggest offender in the global trading system is China, and they’re the only country who’s escalated,” Bessent asserted.
The Treasury chief noted that numerous countries are now seeking negotiations with Washington following these tariff alterations, with discussions on the horizon involving Japan and Vietnam. He expressed hope to finalize new trade agreements with US allies, aiming to create a united front against what he described as China’s unbalanced trade structure.
China has openly contested the tariffs, pledging to retaliate. The Chinese Finance Ministry, on Wednesday, referred to the recent US tariff hikes as a “mistake on top of a mistake” and emphasized that they “infringe on China’s legitimate rights and interests and seriously damage the rules-based multilateral trading system.”
Max Fischer for TROIB News
The US Treasury Secretary remarked that the EU would be “cutting its own throat” if it pursues a tighter alignment with China while weakening its connections with the United States. Bessent's comments came on Wednesday, following Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's call for a reevaluation of the EU’s trade dynamics with China earlier that day. During a diplomatic visit to Asia, Sanchez suggested that the EU could gain from enhanced collaboration with China amidst uncertainties regarding US trade policies and President Donald Trump’s recent efforts to raise tariffs on nearly all trade partners.
“Nobody wins with a trade war. Every country loses,” Sanchez cautioned.
Bessent defended Trump’s tariff initiatives and urged partners not to align themselves with Beijing, asserting that China’s trade policies could devastate the global economy.
“The economic minister in Spain made some comments this morning, ‘Oh, well, maybe we should align ourselves more with China’ – that would be cutting your own throat," he expressed at a press briefing. “These Chinese exports that the US tariff wall is gonna keep out… the Chinese business model… it never stops. They just keep producing and producing and dumping and dumping.”
On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for 75 countries that had previously faced duties ranging from 10% to 50% due to what he called unfair trade imbalances, reducing these duties to a flat 10% for all nations except China. Instead, he increased the tariff on China to 125%, citing Beijing’s recent tariff hike on US goods that reached 84% as an escalation.
“In terms of escalation, unfortunately, the biggest offender in the global trading system is China, and they’re the only country who’s escalated,” Bessent asserted.
The Treasury chief noted that numerous countries are now seeking negotiations with Washington following these tariff alterations, with discussions on the horizon involving Japan and Vietnam. He expressed hope to finalize new trade agreements with US allies, aiming to create a united front against what he described as China’s unbalanced trade structure.
China has openly contested the tariffs, pledging to retaliate. The Chinese Finance Ministry, on Wednesday, referred to the recent US tariff hikes as a “mistake on top of a mistake” and emphasized that they “infringe on China’s legitimate rights and interests and seriously damage the rules-based multilateral trading system.”
Max Fischer for TROIB News
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