Bessent Details ‘Economic Statecraft’ Strategy Ahead of America’s 250th Anniversary

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations in Washington on June 3, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday described a doctrine of “economic statecraft” that would link U.S. economic policy more closely to national sovereignty and security, contending that assumptions underpinning the postwar global order have created critical vulnerabilities that adversaries can exploit.

Speaking at The Economic Club of New York’s America 250 Gala Dinner on the eve of the nation’s 250th anniversary, Bessent argued that the United States helped build an open economic system that brought broad global benefits, but that system needs to be reconsidered.