Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserted this morning that the Trump administration’s mantra of “America first” does not mean that it wants to be isolationist. He argued that it means the opposite.
“America first does not mean America alone. To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners,” Bessent said in remarks at the Institute of International Finance’s Global Outlook Forum in Washington.
“Far from stepping back, America first seeks to expand U.S. leadership and international institutions like the IMF and the World Bank by embracing a stronger leadership role,” he said.
Trump touted Trump’s sweeping tariffs and said that more than 100 countries have approached the U.S., wanting to help its effort in rebalancing global trade. He said China, meanwhile, needs to move its economy away from “export over capacity and towards supporting its own consumers and domestic demand.”
Bessent slammed the IMF and the World Bank, saying they both are “falling short” in their missions.
“The Bretton Woods institutions must step back from their sprawling and unfocused agendas, which have stifled their ability to deliver on their core mandates,” he said. “Going forward, the Trump administration will leverage U.S. leadership and influence at these institutions. and push them to accomplish their very important mandates.”
Bessent also said he wanted to send a strong message about procurement policies when it comes to Ukraine. He said that anyone “who has financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be eligible for funds earmarked for Ukraine’s reconstruction.”