Scott Bessent, the U.S. treasury secretary, predicted that the United States will end the year with a 3% real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate.
On the 7th (local time), Minister Bessent said in a CBS interview that "the economy has been better than we expected," and stated accordingly. He added, "Now we are focused on solving inflation," and explained, "We expect inflation to fall sharply next year."
Regarding criticism that the current Donald Trump administration has failed to properly address rising prices, he reiterated that it was a problem stemming from the previous Joe Biden administration.
Minister Bessent said, "The Biden administration created the worst inflation in 50 years," adding, "Democrats created a (supply) shortage through the energy sector and excessive regulation, and the result has shown up as today's cost-of-living problem."
He also said, "The two factors that burden consumers with prices are inflation and real income," adding, "Real income increased by about 1%." Minister Bessent argues that the prices of food, gasoline, and rent, which the working class actually consumes, are falling.
He also reaffirmed the view that tariff policy did not cause inflation. Minister Bessent said, "Imported-goods inflation is lower than the overall inflation gauge," and emphasized, "What is creating inflation now is the services economy, and that in fact has nothing to do with tariffs."