The U.S. Treasury Secretary believes that the tariff agreement marks progress in "strategic decoupling" with China.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the trade agreement reached over the weekend represents progress for the U.S. in its "strategic" decoupling from China.
Bessent stated that this agreement marks another stage of progress in the U.S. reducing its reliance on Chinese goods. Although the topic of the U.S. "decoupling" itself from its dependence on cheap Chinese imports has been discussed for years, this process has progressed slowly and is unlikely to achieve a complete severance. However, Bessent pointed out that some specific measures for "strategic decoupling" are now being implemented, which is crucial for U.S. interests. In 2024, the total value of U.S. imports from China approached $440 billion, with a trade deficit of $295.4 billion.
In an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box," he said, "We do not want a complete decoupling from China, but we want to decouple in strategic essentials - these materials were unavailable to us during the pandemic, and we also realized that 'high efficiency' supply chains do not equate to 'resilient' supply chains."
"The trade agreement between China and the U.S. marks progress for the U.S. in its "strategic" decoupling from China."
Where does this statement come from? Upon closer inspection, it turns out that this refers to decoupling in strategic essentials, realizing they are falling behind and afraid of being held back.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831960128146444/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.