The US has proposed a direct channel with China to notify both governments of major AI-related national security incidents even as their AI rivalry intensifies. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the proposal was made during talks in New York on Sunday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. Their discussion came ahead of President Donald Trump’s
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he’s urging some of his G20 counterparts to take a page from the Trump administration’s playbook of using tariffs and other measures to crack down on trade imbalances. Bessent told reporters that he had warned other nations at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term that
Facing an increasingly aggressive Iran and a slumping bond market, the Trump administration is betting that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent can use the financial weapons in the government’s arsenal to achieve victory on both fronts. The idea is to kill two birds with one stone: getting Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz would
The US treasury secretary has threated Iran with “the single greatest financial offensive ever”, claiming the US-Israel war with Iran was “entering its endgame”. Scott Bessent said the US would sever all economic ties with the country in “an economic D-Day” and that any nation partnering with Iran financially would also be isolated. Bessent’s threat
The Iranian economy has long been struggling under the weight of decades of international sanctions, which left it in tatters. Earlier this year, Iran experienced weeks of protests due to the spiralling cost of living and inflation – with everyday Iranians blaming the regime for their difficulties. Official figures show that in the 12 months
The first U.S.-Japan joint intervention in three decades aimed at boosting the yen has come and gone without doing much to ease anxiety in currency markets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s notepad suggested the U.S. bought $5 billion-$10 billion worth of yen, while Japan’s move topped $50 billion. The exchange rate initially strengthened to about 157 yen per