Trump nominates pro-tariff billionaire Scott Bessent as US treasury secretary

Selection furthers president-elect's protectionist agenda

Scott Bessent, who has been nominated to lead the US Treasury, has said in the past that America's manufacturing base is being wiped out due to defective trade policies. Reuters

Donald Trump on Friday nominated Scott Bessent to lead the US Treasury, considered to be the president-elect's most consequential economic pick as his pro-tariff agenda comes further into focus.

Mr Bessent, who founded the macro hedge fund Key Square Group in 2015, served as a key economic adviser to Mr Trump during the campaign. In a statement, the president-elect praised him as “one of the world’s foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists”.

“He will help me usher in a new golden age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the world’s leading economy, centre of innovation and entrepreneurialism, destination for capital, while always, and without question, maintaining the US dollar as the reserve currency of the world,” Mr Trump said.

If he is confirmed by the US Senate, Mr Bessent will lead one of the federal government's largest agencies. The Treasury Department oversees the treasuries market, currency policy, is a key bank regulator, implements sanctions and works with the Federal Reserve to provide stability to the US economy.

The head of the agency also oversees the financial stability oversight council and serves as one of the nation's top diplomats to the G7, G20, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other institutions.

By selecting Mr Bessent, Mr Trump takes another step towards implementing a more protectionist trade agenda when he takes office next year. The president-elect has suggested issuing a 10 to 20 per cent tariff on all imports, as well as a 60 per cent tariffs on imports from China.

Most mainstream economists argue such a policy would reignite inflation, widen the fiscal deficit and hamper growth. A study from the non-partisan Peterson Institute for International Economics projected the tariffs policy would not only be an insufficient means to replace income tax revenue, but also cost the average US household more than $2,600 per year.

Should he be confirmed by the Senate, Mr Bessent's support would be crucial to implementing the tariffs as well as an extension of Mr Trump's tax cuts from his first term.

A former George Soros chief investment officer, Mr Bessent has recently defended Mr Trump's tariff agenda. In a November 15 op-ed published in the right-wing news outlet Fox, Mr Bessent argued tariffs can be a useful tool to help achieve a president's foreign policy objectives.

“Whether it is getting allies to spend more on their own defence, opening foreign markets to US exports, securing co-operation on ending illegal immigration and interdicting fentanyl trafficking, or deterring military aggression, tariffs can play a central role,” he wrote.

Mr Bessent criticised US trade policy in the article, claiming that China's economic growth “has only cemented the hold of a despotic regime” while America's manufacturing base has been wiped out.

“The truth is that other countries have taken advantage of the US’s openness for far too long, because we allowed them to. Tariffs are a means to finally stand up for Americans,” he wrote.

His nomination comes a week after Mr Trump tapped Howard Lutnick – another pro-tariff billionaire – to lead the Commerce Department, which enforces US trade laws.

Mr Bessent beat Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to win the nomination. Mr Warsh has been considered to be a likely successor to Jerome Powell when the Fed chair's term ends in 2026.