Treasury Secretary Bessent says a stock market decline won’t deter the U.S. from taking strong action against China

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted Wednesday that the U.S. won’t change its trade negotiating stance on China due to stock market volatility.

President Donald Trump “likes a high stock market,” but he “believes that the high stock market is a result of good policies,” Bessent said in an exclusive interview at CNBC’s Invest in America Forum.

“We won’t negotiate because the stock market is going down” or shy away from taking strong measures against Beijing for that reason, Bessent said.

“We will negotiate because we are doing what is best economically for the U.S.,” he said.

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