US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ‘not worried’ by markets crash. Here are his surprising reasons…

In a statement that has caused some concern among investors, United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on March 16 dismissed concerns about the ongoing market slump as “healthy and normal”, according to a Bloomberg report.

Speaking on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’, Bessent said he is “not worried” about the recent market downturn which had wiped trillions of investor dollars from the equity market amid the Donald Trump-led government’s economic policies, the report added.

US Markets Crash: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Downplays Concerns

A former hedge fund manager and founder of Key Square Group, Bessent sought to downplay concerns by saying, “I’ve been in the investment business for 35 years, and I can tell you that corrections are healthy, they are normal.”

He added, “I‘m not worried about the markets. Over the long term, if we put good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, the markets will do great.”

On concerns about US economic policies, Bessent added, “We are putting the policies in place that will make the affordability crisis go down, inflation moderate and as we set the sails I am confident that the American people will come our way.”

Further during the interview, Bessent stated that the ‘American Dream’ is not contingent on being able to buy cheap goods from China. “Families instead want to afford a home and see their children do better than they are. It’s mortgages, it’s cars, it’s real wage gains,” he said.

US Equities Markets Crash, Economic Concerns Amid Trump Tariff War

Last week, the S&P 500 Index selloff led to concerns among investors over the adverse impact of Donald Trump’s economic policies (tariff war, immigration clampdown and federal budget cuts), as per the report.

While the markets staged a strong rebound on March 14 (Friday), stock index futures declined in early Asian trading hours March 17 (Monday) showing sentiment remains fragile, the Bloomberg report noted.

Across the political spectrum, Democrats and Republican consumers have become increasingly concerned that Donald Trump’s global tariff war will lead to higher costs, it added. As of date, the Trump administration has hiked tariffs on aluminium and steel and more levies are pending on April 2, 2025.

All this comes ahead as the US Federal Reserve (Fed) prepares to meet this week. Fed Chairperson Jerome Powell had earlier in March said that the central bank is not in a hurry to cut rates but he will likely be pressed about the uncertainty and risks emerging.

Donald Trump ‘Not Even Looking at Stock Market’

Reversing earlier expectations that they would work to please investors, US President Donald Trump and other members of the administration downplayed the importance of near-term financial gyrations.

“I’m not even looking at the stock market,” Donald Trump said earlier in March. 

In a note on March 16, Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research noted: “…in effect, they (Trump and his officials) are saying that there is no Trump Put for stock investors. At the same time, Fed officials have said that they are in no rush to provide a Fed Put, which in the past often made significant stock market bottoms.”

(With inputs from Bloomberg)