Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary: ‘Tariff derangement syndrome’ is driving criticism of trade plan

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says “tariff derangement syndrome” has infected the discussion of President Trump’s trade plan while insisting that the tariffs will not lead to inflation.

The temporary pause on Mr. Trump’s tariff plan is set to expire on Wednesday, and he has said that 12 of the nation’s top trading partners will receive letters on Monday outlining the tariff rate the U.S. will impose on their imports.

Mr. Bessent stated that a significant amount of “misinformation” is circulating regarding Mr. Trump’s plan and its potential impact on the economy, workers, and consumers.

“I think TDS — Trump derangement syndrome — has turned into tariff derangement syndrome,” Mr. Bessent said on “Fox News Sunday.” “As soon as you call them Trump tariffs, 90% of Democrats hate them.”

A recent Fox News poll found that 57% of registered voters said the Trump tariffs would “hurt” the U.S. economy, 28% said it would help, and 14% said it would make no difference.

Mr. Bessent also disagreed with a JPMorgan Chase Institute analysis showing U.S. employers would face a direct cost of $82.3 billion from the tariff hikes.

“The empirical data shows we have seen no inflation thus far,” he said. He credited Mr. Trump with putting “maximum leverage” on countries to come to the negotiating table by letting them know that their tariff rates “could boomerang back to the April 2 date.”

“I think it is going to really move things along in the next couple of days and weeks,” he said. “There is a big difference between inflation and a one-time price adjustment.”

Mr. Trump announced significant levies on dozens of trading partners in April, then paused them for 90 days to allow space for negotiations on trade barriers.

That pause is set to end Wednesday.

The Trump administration struck a deal-in-principle with the U.K. that opened British markets to U.S. farm goods and other products in exchange for some tariff relief for the British side.

The U.S. and China also have a trade framework in place to encourage dialogue on significant trade issues.

But other deals haven’t been harder to come by. It has fueled questions about whether the administration would strike pacts, grant an extension, or impose tariffs.

Mr. Bessent struck an optimistic note about what’s to come next from the ongoing negotiations.