U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a Senate Finance Committee hearing. The two discussed the importance of passing the tax cut package, the next steps in combatting global trade barriers, and the need to halt the flow of fentanyl precursors from China.
Watch the full exchange HERE.
Daines opened by calling out the Congressional Budget Office for inaccuracy:
Daines: Secretary Bessent, good to have you here today. I can’t help it, as I was listening to my colleagues across the dias here, as you reminded them… you can’t be shoveling trillions of dollars of stimulus spending, unpaid for spending, in the economy without being inflationary. Summers called it right, we called it right. They got it wrong, and that same CBO that got it wrong then is getting it wrong right now as it relates to this current battle we’re facing on this amazing bill that will stop the largest tax increase in American history and will make some of the largest cuts, true spending cuts, to this runaway spending from the federal government in American history. And Secretary Bessent, I wanna set the record straight on that and thank you for your leadership as we’re moving through this very important process to get this bill on the President’s desk by the 4th of July. So thank you.
Daines thanked Bessent for his work on trade negotiations with China:
Daines: I wanna talk a bit and dialogue on the China negotiations. I’ve been grateful for your leadership working through this tough negotiation right now with China. You’ve played a very active role in the ongoing trade negotiations. Forty-two percent of the world’s economy is comprised by what happens in United States and China. So this is high stakes. I recognize the need to hold China accountable on key agreements. I remember when Senator, now Ambassador Perdue and I were in Beijing in September of ’19, negotiating that Phase One trade deal with Liu He back then, thank you for continuing to work with China and holding them accountable to commitments made under President Trump’s first administration. Safeguarding American IP, curbing forced tech transfer, ensuring fair access for U.S. farmers and ranchers, and addressing unfair tariff and non-tariff barriers are all key priorities to ensure that we do have more fair and balanced trade with China. I want to thank you for the recent de-escalation on tariffs as you reached that Geneva Consensus, as well as the President’s efforts to bring China to the negotiating table. I truly hope these talks will continue, and both sides hold up their end of the bargain. Secretary Bessent, what do you see as the next steps?
Bessent: That’s in my mind, one of the single most important economic questions of the next few years.
Daines emphasized the need to halt fentanyl precursors from China:
Daines: When I was in Beijing in March, I met with Vice Minister Ma, Wang Yi was out of country at the time. I met with Vice Premier He Lifeng and then finished my time there in those 48 hours meeting with Director with Premier Li Qiang. One of the issues that we brought up in President Trump had asked me to push hard on this was getting the Chinese to stop the shipment of fentanyl precursors into Mexico, as well as some into Canada, even the United States, but the precursors. What are your thoughts and what are you hearing right now from China in terms of their efforts to stop these precursors— the leading cause of death for 18 to 45-year-old Americans today?
Bessent: Senator, there is a 20 percent fentanyl tariff on China right now. For the first time, that seems to have gotten their attention.
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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Gabby Wiggins