Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, highlighting economic successes including rising wages for lower-income Americans and sanctions against Iran. Congress is expected to question him on inflation, energy prices, interest rates, federal debt, and the administration's fiscal record.
International trade can promote peace through economic integration, but can also create conflict when weaponized as a coercive tool—a phenomenon increasingly evident in geopolitics involving tariffs, energy chokepoints, and strategic sanctions.
A new IMF working paper analyzing 2015-2023 subsidy data shows China's strategic industrial subsidies effectively boosted exports in high-scale-elasticity sectors like electronics, while US and EU subsidies largely targeted agriculture with minimal productivity gains. US tariffs countering China's subsidies proved ineffective at offsetting the export advantages created by China's targeted spending.