Los Angeles, California: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the Trump administration’s economic strategy, characterizing tariffs as “engineered,” to drive direct investment into the United States, foster job creation, spur factory construction, and increase domestic production.
Speaking at the Milken Institute’s 2025 Global Conference on May 5th at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Bessent described the Trump administration’s core economic tenets, “trade, tax cuts, and deregulation,” as deeply interconnected components of a broader economic engine designed to stimulate long-term American growth.
“The Trump economic agenda is more than the sum of its parts,” Bessent said. “Trade, tax cuts, and deregulation may be three distinct policies. But each policy is mutually reinforcing. And acting in concert, they push toward the same goal—to solidify America’s position as the home of global capital.”
He emphasized that the administration’s trade policy aims to ensure American workers and companies operate on a level playing field. “With a level playing field, American industry can outcompete all challengers,” Bessent said.
Referencing President Trump’s inaugural promise to usher in a new “Golden Age” for the nation, Bessent likened the administration’s first 100 days to agricultural preparation. “We have uprooted government waste and harmful regulations. We have planted the seeds of private investment. And we have fertilized the ground with fresh tax legislation,” he said.
Bessent highlighted key features of the President’s proposed tax reforms, including the permanent extension of the small business deduction to prevent a looming tax hike on Main Street. Additional provisions include tax credits and deductions for research and innovation to attract high-tech investment, as well as the restoration of 100 per cent expensing for equipment – expanded to include new factory construction.
According to Bessent, the outcome of these measures will be expansive: “More jobs, more homes, more growth, more factories, more critical manufacturing plants, more semiconductors, more energy, more opportunity, more defense, more economic security, more innovation.”
He also outlined the administration’s deregulation agenda, noting its intent to make U.S. investment “as seamless and rewarding as possible.” This includes aggressive permitting reform aimed at reducing federal approval timelines for energy and construction projects from years to just months.
“The President doesn’t want to just ‘Drill, baby, drill!’ – he wants to ‘Build, baby, build!’” Bessent remarked. He said these changes would unlock the full potential of America’s builders and empower business leaders to deploy capital with speed and efficiency.
Reinforcing the resilience of U.S. markets, Bessent said, “Throw whatever you will at America’s capital markets—the Great Depression, two World Wars, 9/11, a global recession, the COVID pandemic, or the last few years of sky-high inflation.”
He added, “Each time the American economy gets knocked down, it gets back up again. And it gets back up even stronger than it was before.” He also described U.S. markets as “antifragile,” stating that America’s economic history could be summed up in just five words: “Up and to the right.”
“The United States is entering a new Golden Age of economic prosperity for both Main Street and Wall Street. And we don’t want anyone to get left behind,” Bessent said.
He drew a parallel between President Trump and Milken Institute founder Mike Milken, noting that both had faced criticism from establishment circles, only to later upend conventional economic wisdom.
“Milken, like President Trump, is a visionary,” Bessent said. “In the 1970s, Milken had the rare combination of guts and intellect to defy the Wall Street consensus. With his heterodox approach to junk bonds, he pioneered a new asset class known today as high-yield bonds.”
Bessent praised the Milken Conference as a forum for “bold people with bold ideas.”
CEO of the Milken Institute, Richard Ditizio, echoed that sentiment. He said the future will be shaped by “bold, inclusive coalitions,” where “capital, innovation, and collaboration” converge to produce transformative outcomes.
However, Ditizio also issued a cautionary note, warning of a rising “erosion of civility,” in public discourse.
“I want to talk about one that doesn’t show up in spreadsheets but is just as critical,” Ditizio said. “The temperature of our conversations across media, politics, even PTAs has risen to the point where anger, too often, replaces listening.”
He warned that curiosity has been replaced by hostility, and “tragically, in far too many instances, violence has often followed.”
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