Trump Official Gives Less-Than-Reassuring Response When Asked if He’s Worried About Empty Shelves: ‘Uh, Not at Present’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that despite a marked decrease in goods being imported into the U.S., he is not worried about goods shortages “at present.”

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have upended global trade after he imposed them on most countries’ products earlier this month. He singled out Chinese goods for a 145% tariff, which he somewhat walked back last week by saying that “it won’t be that high.” Nevertheless, Chinese imports at western U.S. ports have slid significantly. Trump has said he’s had multiple calls with President Xi Jinping, but Beijing denies this.

On Monday’s edition of Fox & Friends, Brian Kilmeade interviewed Bessent outside the White House.

“What about China?” he asked. “Do you plan on calling your counterpart?”

“We will see what happens with China,” Bessent replied. “I think it’s unsustainable from the Chinese side. So, maybe they’ll call me one day.”

Kilmeade cited a World Trade Organization estimate stating that without a resolution, trade between the U.S. and its third-largest trading partner could drop by 80%.

“That’s why I believe it’s unsustainable,” the secretary said. “They sell to us five times more than we sell to them. And we are a crucial part of their business model. So, selling cheap subsidized goods into the U.S. is crucial for the Chinese economy. I believe we’re already seeing a slowdown there. The government’s trying to take measures counter-cyclical to help the economy. So Brian, in the history of trade negotiations or trade slowdowns, it is the surplus country that always loses most. And we have a huge deficit.”

“Are you worried about empty shelves?”Kilmeade inquired. “They say that a lot of these supply lines and cargo ships are being held up. A lot of people saying, ‘Turn it around with tariffs this high. I don’t want the product.’ Are you worried about empty shelves?”

“Uh, not at present,” Bessent answered. “We have some great retailers. I assume they preordered. I think we’ll see elasticities. I think we’ll see replacements. And then we will see how quickly the Chinese want to de-escalate.”

Watch above via Fox News.