Scott Bessent: "Our trading partners have taken advantage of us"

This has been years in the making, this unsustainable system.  Our trading partners have taken advantage of us.  We can see this through the large [trade] surpluses.  We can see this through the large budget deficit.

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After 20, 30, 40, 50 years of bad behavior, you can't just wipe the slate clean.

~ Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, "Treasury Sec. Bessent says ‘there doesn’t have to be a recession’: Full interview," NBC News "Meet the Press," 2:50 mark and 9:30 mark, April 6, 2025