Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent‘s recent assurances to Wall Street executives about imminent trade agreements with key U.S. allies have yet to materialize, sending markets into a tailspin as investors grow increasingly concerned about the administration’s tariff policies.
What Happened: About 10 days ago, Bessent reportedly told financial executives he was making “significant progress” on trade deals with India, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. These agreements would have potentially allowed President Donald Trump to focus on trade issues with China while avoiding broader economic disruption.
“In the end, it doesn’t matter what Bessent thinks or does because he works for Trump,” one banker told FOX Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino, according to a New York Post column on Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 971.82 to close at 38,170 on Monday, …