US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly said that the US administration is considering examining possible additional sanctions on Russia “very closely this week”. “With President (Donald) Trump, all options are on the table,” he said in an interview with Fox TV.
‘With President Trump, all options are on the table,’ says Scott Bessent
His remarks come at a time when the US already has extensive sanctions in place against Russia, primarily due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and for activities deemed threatening to US national security and foreign policy.
America first imposed sanctions against Russia in 2014 and then expanded in response to Russia’s escalating aggression in Ukraine.
Add Zee Business as a Preferred Source
The sanctions target a wide range of Russian individuals, financial institutions and state-owned enterprises, as well as sectors such as defense, energy and finance.
What US Treasury Secretary said about appeals court calling Trump tariffs ‘unconstitutional’
Speaking about an appeals court’s move to declare the Trump 2.0 tariffs “unconstitutional”, Bessent said: “We think we’re going to win at the Supreme Court.”
He also said that the US is close to a tipping point where “we could have financial instability due to these large and persistent trade deficits. So we are trying to head off a crisis.”
Earlier, the 47th American president dismissed the appeal court’s action by writing on his preferred microblogging platform, Truth Social, that if his “tariffs ever went away, it would be disastrous” for the US.
Many eminent economists and financial experts have already criticised Trump’s tariff policy, especially for India.
Separately, Trump termed India’s past relations with the US as a “one-sided disaster”. Read more
American economist Richard Wolff has described the Trump 2.0 tariffs as “a mouse hitting his fist to an elephant”, according to foreign media. Read more
Justifying the tariffs, Trump said he would take the matter to the Supreme Court. “Today a Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end,” Trump wrote on Truth Social during the weekend.
Removal of the tariffs will “make us financially weak, and we have to be strong”, he wrote.
ALSO READ: 50% tariffs by US bad policy move, India must continue to protect its farmers, says SBI Research
