The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Scott Bessent, rejected this Sunday the idea that the US economy could enter a recession in 2026 and defended that the tariff agenda and the trade agreements reached with other countries will lead to “very strong” growth.
“I am very, very optimistic about 2026. We have laid the foundation for an economy with very strong, non-inflationary growth,” Bessent said during NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ morning show.
The Treasury secretary acknowledged that the US economy faces some pressure, but responded negatively when asked about the possibility of a recession next year.
However, he admitted that some sectors sensitive to interest rates “have entered a recession” and said that the real estate sector “faces difficulties.”
Bessent added that the recent government shutdown, which lasted 43 days – the longest in history – and did not end until November 12, had affected the economy.
But he was convinced that the big, beautiful bill signed last summer by US President Donald Trump will see its fruits next year.
“I’m very confident in 2026, because what we’re going to see is the president has done peace deals, tax deals and trade deals (and) the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,'” Bessent said.
The United States recorded year-on-year inflation of 3% last September, the latest data available due to the federal shutdown
Controlling inflation is one of the main concerns of the Republican Government, which at the beginning of the month suffered a severe electoral setback in several important state and local elections.
In this sense, Trump last Thursday withdrew the 40% tariffs on certain products from Brazil, such as beef, vegetables, coffee, cocoa or aviation components, leaving them back at the original 10%.
