U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks at the White House in Washington on Feb. 3, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs are unlikely to raise inflation, in part because China will “eat any tariffs that go on.”
Bessent’s comments come just two days before the tariffs are scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday. Trump is expected to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada. The president also announced the U.S. would impose an extra 10% duty on Chinese imports, on top of the 10% tariff he levied on the country on Feb. 4.
Some economists have raised concerns about the possibility that the tariffs could lead to an increase in inflation and keep interest rates elevated into 2026.
Bessent was asked in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” what impact the tariffs could have on the average household.
“Well, we don’t know yet because it’s path-dependent, but what I can tell you is that I’m not worried about China,” Bessent said. “China will pay for the tariffs because their business model is exporting their way out of this inflation.”
“They will eat any tariffs that go on,” Bessent added.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said Friday that it “firmly opposes” Trump’s latest tariff hike and vowed to retaliate as necessary. After the U.S. enacted an initial round of tariffs in February, China raised duties on certain U.S. energy imports and added two U.S. companies to an unreliable entities list. Experts suggested China could take similar measures again following the addition of fresh tariffs.
“If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests,” a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson previously told CNBC.
Bessent was asked Sunday about his comments last week that Mexico has proposed matching the U.S. tariffs on China to avoid being hit with Trump’s tariffs. He also urged Canada to follow Mexico’s proposal.
“We’ll see. The Mexican leadership has offered to do that,” Bessent said. “We haven’t heard from the Canadians, but I think that would be a very good start.”
He added that announcements from the countries could come on Tuesday, “or maybe the tariff wall goes up, and then we see what happens from there.”
WATCH: China vows to retaliate as necessary after Trump threatens tariff hikes
