US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that after the dispute between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “it’s very hard to make an economic deal with a leader who doesn’t want a peace agreement.”

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Bessent described the discussion between Trump and Zelensky as “one of the biggest own-goals in history.” Bessent expressed, “Making an economic deal with a leader who doesn’t want a peace agreement is very difficult.” He criticized Zelensky for disrespecting the American people, stating that “coming here and acting in that way was unacceptable.”

Bessent added, “We had long, heated negotiations with President Zelensky in Kyiv, but we were going to make this economic deal. However, we will have to see if the repercussions of this will be reversed in public opinion.” He emphasized that President Trump will decide whether negotiations with Zelensky will continue or not.

Regarding the ongoing tariffs, Bessent highlighted the significant income generated since imposing tariffs on China and emphasized the role that tariff revenue plays in reducing the country’s deficit. He mentioned Mexico’s proposal to apply reciprocal tariffs to those imposed by the US on China and suggested that Canada would benefit from doing the same.

Bessent argued that this way, they could protect North America from the flood of imports from China. He stated that as government spending decreases and the private sector is revitalized, one could speak of the “Trump economy” within 6 to 12 months.

Explaining the plan to re-privatize the economy, Bessent said, “I believe that as we reduce regulations in the next 6-12 months, extract more American energy, shape our energy program, make the tax cuts law permanent, and gain some certainties, we can quickly return to the 2% inflation target set by the Fed.”

Bessent noted that the long-term government bond yields dropping would depend on how fast inflation decreases and at what level growth stabilizes. He drew attention to the fact that after last year’s presidential elections, bond yields fell by more than 20 basis points. Bessent, pointing out the relationship between mortgage rates and bond yields, said that the housing market is currently stuck but predicted that it would resolve within the next few weeks. He expressed optimism about passing the budget bill that includes tax cuts and indicated that he was hopeful about the progress made.