Bessent says Fannie, Freddie release depends on mortgage rates
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that any release of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from their current conservatorship would depend on the implications for mortgage rates.
Bloomberg
WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s assertive stance on tariffs, arguing that “access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American Dream.”
His comments come after Trump had imposed steep 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada earlier this week. Trump then took executive action delaying new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico that fell under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement for one month.
Economic experts have argued that tariffs could increase the price of American goods.
But Bessent dismissed concerns about raised prices during a speech at the Economic Club of New York.
“The American Dream is rooted in the concept that any citizen can achieve prosperity, upward mobility, and economic security. For too long, the designers of multilateral trade deals have lost sight of this. International economic relations that do not work for the American people must be reexamined,” he said.
He added that “to the extent that another country’s practices harm our own economy and people, the United States will respond.”
“This is the America First trade policy,” he said.
Trump had imposed the tariffs on Canada and Mexico citing frustrations he had with drugs and migrants flowing into the U.S. unlawfully.
China, Canada and Mexico make up the U.S.’s biggest trading partners, and Trump has acknowledged the tariffs could cause American consumers “some pain.”
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Kinsey Crowley and Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY
