May 28 - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to present an argument that the economic agenda pursued by President Donald Trump is intended to reverse what he describes as decades of policy choices that rendered American supply chains fragile and left the economy dependent on strategic rivals, including China.
In prepared remarks to be delivered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Bessent will say the United States has been "asleep," equating high consumption and apparent comfort with genuine strength while prioritizing efficiency over the ability to withstand shocks.
"Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of a foundational principle that previous generations understood instinctively: economic security is national security," Bessent will say, according to the text of his speech. "For a nation that cannot manufacture, mine, ship or refine its needs gradually cedes its strength - and sovereignty - to others."
Bessent, who often refers to himself as an "economic historian," attributes the erosion of the U.S. industrial base and the growth of foreign dependence to a series of bipartisan policy mistakes. He singles out the decision to allow China into the World Trade Organization and an overreliance on the rules-based trading system to constrain non-market economic behavior as drivers of that decline.
According to his prepared remarks, the result has been growing U.S. reliance on rivals for critical inputs, the financing of the rise of countries whose interests conflict with those of the United States, and a weakening industrial foundation that he says is incompatible with defending the international order.
Bessent's speech arrives about two weeks after a summit in Beijing between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that reinforced the economic and strategic standoff between the two powers. That meeting produced agreements described in the remarks as encompassing managed trade and investment, including some purchases of U.S. farm products and aircraft.
He frames the administration's "America First Agenda" - including tariff measures justified on national and economic security grounds - as corrective policy, alongside efforts to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding capacity and to reconstitute domestic supply chains for critical minerals and pharmaceuticals.
His prepared text does not introduce new policy initiatives, nor does it address potential economic threats stemming from the war in Iran and any closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Still, Bessent emphasizes a doctrinal point that the administration intends to pursue.
"But let me be direct about what this doctrine does not mean. It does not mean retreating from the world. On the contrary, it means engaging with it on stronger, fairer, and more sustainable terms," the speech states.
He adds that the United States will not sever ties with trading partners indiscriminately, but will work to differentiate "healthy interdependence from dangerous overdependence."
Bessent notes that reducing reliance on China will be difficult because Beijing holds dominant positions in critical minerals, electronics manufacturing, and in industrial policy initiatives aimed at strategic sectors. He also warns that China has enacted regulations that could penalize companies that try to move supply chains out of the country.
On the question of efficiency, Bessent is precise in his language: scaling back dependence does not equate to rejecting efficiency outright. Instead, he argues the nation must stop "worshiping efficiency when efficiency leaves our nation exposed," a line that underscores his defense of policies prioritizing resilience over short-term gains.
Overall, the speech lays out a case that current administration efforts - from tariffs to rebuilding certain industrial capabilities - are intended as remedies for what Bessent characterizes as strategic complacency, and as measures to restore an industrial and supply-chain base better aligned with national security objectives.