Scott Bessent says Trump intends to reprivatize the US economy

Scott Bessent emphasized the need to reprivatize the economy to fix the last administration’s mistakes. The secretary defended Trump’s policies, saying the president was trying to transition the economy to a private sector-powered one. 

Speaking at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented that President Donald Trump was trying to transition the public sector-powered economy to a private sector-powered one. 

Bessent highlights the need to reprivatize  the economy 

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent revealed Trump’s administration’s plan to unleash private sector growth and address the previous administration’s mistakes. He pointed out that the government was cutting unnecessary spending under Trump’s leadership. Bessent added that Biden’s administration’s overregulation stifled innovation within the United States. 

Amid all the excitement and news today, I almost forgot I had the opportunity to hear @USTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks at @EconClubNY this afternoon.

One of my takeaways: Bessent said that to start fixing the economy and the mistakes of the last administration,… pic.twitter.com/4ztdeeJByp

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) March 7, 2025

The secretary highlighted that permanent tax cuts, reduced corporate rates, and expanded small business deductions would be paired with deregulation to lower costs and boost investment. He said suspending the Corporate Transparency Act would ensure millions of small businesses were freed from burdensome reporting. 

In his first economic policy address, Bessent commented that the US economy’s reliance on the public sector for job growth was stunted. The government official was vocal about Biden’s administration’s overspending, saying its policies led to increased inflation. 

He explained that the Biden administration left the US with an economy that may have exhibited some reasonable metrics at face value but was brittle. He explained that 95% of all job growth in the past year was concentrated in public and government adjacent sectors. 

Bessent said these jobs offered slower wage growth and less productivity than private-sector jobs. He reiterated that the private sector had been in rescission, and their goal was to reprivatize the economy. The official pointed out that employment in manufacturing, information technology, and mining flatlined over the same period. 

The Secretary said Trump’s administration was working to create more jobs in the private sector. He added that some measures the president implemented to achieve this included extending tax cuts, slashing regulations, and rebalancing the United States economy through tariff policies. 

Bessent comments on Washington’s trade tariffs 

Bessent dismissed the tariff concerns, saying they were necessary for long-term stability and to create America’s first competitiveness. He defended the White House’s position on tariffs, saying Trump was ready to take strong measures to achieve his trade goals. The government official emphasized that trade policy had to be more than acquiring low-priced items from other countries.

He said that access to cheap goods was not the essence of the American dream. Bessent added that the American dream was rooted in the concept that everyone could access economic security and upward mobility. He added that previous administrations have lost sight of the dream when it comes to multilateral trade deals. 

He emphasized that the government would respond when other countries’ policies harmed the United States economy and its citizens. Bessent clarified that this was America’s first trade policy. Commerce Department data revealed how far the United States fell behind its global trading partners. It highlighted the imbalance, which increased to H$131.4 billion in January, a 34% increase from December 2024. 

Bessent commented that he was not worried about inflation across the continuum. He explained that Trump considered tariffs to have three benefits, including protecting industries and workers from unfair practices. The government official added that the tariffs would also act as a source of revenue for the United States. He also emphasized that Trump would use the tariffs as a negotiation tool. 

The Treasury secretary predicted that Trump’s economic agenda would help reduce interest rates and increase market confidence in the long-term U.S. fiscal profile. 

Canada and Mexico responded to the trade tariffs, saying they were unfair and unreasonable. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would remain in a trade war with the United States for the foreseeable future. 

He added that his government would continue discussing with Trump’s administration to seek the tariff removal. The prime minister noted that Canada’s reciprocal tariffs would remain in place until Washington withdrew theirs. 

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