Treasury secretary on meetings in Asia, TikTok deal, government shutdown and more

(CBS, KYMA) - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the meetings in Asia.

According to Brennan, Secretary Bessent and the trade team has been negotiating "directly with Chinese officials," with Bessent saying a truce may have been reached Sunday regarding the 155% tariff threat toward China.

This prompted Brennan to ask Bessent if it's officially off the table and what are the terms, to which he said:

"I think we had a very good two day meeting. I would believe that...so it would be an extra 100% from where we are now, and I believe that that is effectively off the table. I'm not going to get ahead of the two leaders who will be meeting in Korea on Thursday, but I can tell you we had a very good two days. So I would expect that the threat of the 100% has gone away, as has the threat of the immediate imposition of the Chinese initiating a worldwide export control regime."

Brennan followed up by asking if the export control on rare earths, used in all sorts of electronics and automobiles, will be lifted, and Bessent said:

"It was never imposed, so they threatened to impose it in December, and President Trump, to give me and the trade team leverage, decided that it would be a good idea for him to threaten a 100% additional tariff, and it did give us a great deal of leverage. President Trump's very good at creating leverage for us. This is the the fifth meeting that we've had with the Chinese. My Chinese counterpart is the Vice Premier, He Lifeng, so we had a very good two days. We discussed a wide variety of issues, from the rare earth magnets to trade, to substantial purchases of American agricultural products, to the Chinese helping us in this fentanyl crisis that we have in the U.S."

When asked if American farmers can expect to sell their soybeans to China again after they were, according to Brennan, "hit hard by China's boycott," Bessent said, "The soybean farmers are going to be extremely happy with this deal for this year and for the coming years."

During the interview, Brennan and Bessent talked about the TikTok deal, which, according to Brennan, was discussed during the meeting with China.

"We reached a final deal on TikTok. We reached one in Madrid, and I believe that as of today, all the details are ironed out, and that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea," Bessent shared.

Brennan and Bessent then talked about the ongoing government shutdown, with Brennan asking if President Donald Trump's ability to negotiate a deal with China is going to be hurt by the fact he's been unable to reach a deal to reopen the U.S. government, and Bessent said:

"I don't think it's going to hurt. It's a global embarrassment what these Democratic senators are doing, keeping the government shut down. I mean, look at the numbers. It's 52-3, 52 Republican senators, three Democratic senators have come across the line. So I just think it's an embarrassment, doesn't affect his ability on the international stage. Now what it does affect, it's starting to affect the economy. It's starting to slow down air traffic. And I would urge moderate Democrats to be heroes, come across the aisle, like they did in the spring, and pass a clean CR."

Later in the interview, Brennan and Bessent talked about the U.S. sanctioning Russia's top oil and gas companies last week, with Vladimir Putin's envoy, Krill Dmitriev, saying the sanctions will have "absolutely no effect on Russia's economy. They will simply lead to higher prices at gas stations in the United States."

This lead Brennan to ask Bessent if Dmitriev is wrong and when Russia will feel the pain, and Bessent said:

"I think Russia is going to feel the pain immediately. I can tell you that we've already seen India has done a complete halt of Russian oil purchases. Many of the Chinese refineries have stopped. And are you really going to publish what a Russian propagandist says? I mean, what else is he going to say? That oh, it's going to be terrible, and it's going to bring Putin to the table. Of course the Russian economy is a wartime economy. Growth is virtually zero. Inflation, I believe, is over 20% and everything we do is going to bring Putin to the table. It's oil that funds the Russian war machine, and I think we can make a substantial dent in his profits."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Bessent, click here.