(9 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington, DC – 9 April 2025
1. Mid, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent listens to reporter question standing next to press secretary Karoline Leavitt
2. UPSOUND (English) Reporter asking question:
"Can you explain more of the decision making on what feels like a reversal here? I mean, just these went into effect less than 15 hours ago, these tariffs. Why the pause now? What led to that?"
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary:
"No, again, President Trump created maximum negotiating leverage for himself, and which tariffs went into effect 15 hours ago, the ones that we have lowered went into effect a week ago. They were announced a week and we have just been overwhelmed, overwhelmed by the response from mostly our allies who want to come and negotiate in good faith. So we are expecting them to come with their best deal. But as I said a week ago today, don’t retaliate, hold your ground, let’s see what happens. And China, they kept escalating and escalating. And now they have 125 percent tariffs that will be effective immediately."
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary: (Listening to reporter question about bonds)
"I have nothing that says that, and we actually had quite a good ten-year auction today. And all this was, again, this was driven by the president’s strategy. He and I had a long talk on Sunday, and this was his strategy all along. And that, you know, you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position. They responded, they have shown themselves to the world to be the bad actors. And, and, and we are willing to cooperate with our allies and with our trading partners who did not retaliate. It wasn’t a hard message – don’t retaliate, things will turn out well."
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5. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary:
"Look it was China’s decision that we have the deficit with them. They sell us almost five times what we sell them. So again, I think it’s an own goal by China."
6. Mid, Bessent listening to reporter question
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary:
"it signals that President Trump cares about trade and that we want to negotiate in good faith. And as I said, each one of these is going to be a separate, bespoke negotiation. So we are confident that having seen the other side of where this could go. And it was like I said last week that the market didn’t understand those were maximum levels. The countries can think about those levels as they come to us to bring down their tariffs, their non-tariff trade barriers. We’re going to discuss currency manipulation, subsidy of labor and industry."
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8. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary:
"Well, we’ve started with a 90-day pause, and we will see if more countries turn up, what will happen. But we have a meeting with Vietnam today, and we have one of the largest trade deficits with them, so I’m hoping it will move in a good direction. I was at the Japanese ambassador’s house last night for the Cherry Blossom Festival, which was quite festive. And he and I had a good chat. They are going to send a deal team over. So we’ll see, these are complicated negotiations. These are imbalances that have taken decades to create. And, but, I think having seen the maximum level that Donald Trump is willing to go to, President Trump has created this negotiating leverage."
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary:
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