Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a three-word reply on Wednesday to countries looking to respond to the United States’ broad tariffs: “Do not retaliate.”
President Donald Trump announced on his self-proclaimed “Liberation Day” a 10% baseline tariff across the board and retaliatory tariffs on some of the country’s closest allies, who he says are taking advantage of the U.S.
Among some of the notable tariffs are 34% on China, 20% on the European Union, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan. The tariffs on China increased to 54% due to an existing 20% tariff.
“My advice to every country right now is do not retaliate. Sit back, take it in, let’s see how it goes. Because if you retaliate, there will be escalation,” Bessent said Wednesday in an interview on “Special Report” shortly after the announcement. “If you don’t retaliate, this is the high-water mark.”
Notably absent on the list of countries subject to tariffs were Mexico, Canada, Russia and Belarus.
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