Bessent says U.S. economy is strong as holiday spending surges

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the holiday shopping season has been “very strong” so far and predicted that the U.S. economy will end the year on solid footing.

“The economy has been better than we thought. We’ve had 4% GDP growth in a couple of quarters,” Bessent told’ Face the Nation’. “We’re going to finish the year, despite the Schumer shutdown, with 3% real GDP growth.”

Holiday spending drives U.S. economic growth

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, gross domestic product dropped by 0.6% year-over-year between jan and March 2025. The second quarter of the year saw a 3.8% increase.

BEA is expected to publish initial economic results for the third quarter by December 23. Just a few days ago, an estimate from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta put third-quarter annual GDP growth at 3.5%.

Consumer spending remains a key driver of the economy, accounting for nearly 70% of the U.S. GDP. However, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index stood at 53.3 in December—up 4.5% from November but down 28% compared with last year.

Inflation continues to impact households. The latest report, delayed by the government shutdown, showed consumer prices rising 3% year-over-year in September, including a 3.1% increase in the cost of food at home.

President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns over Americans’ financial struggles. “The word ‘affordability’ is a con job by the Democrats,” he said during a cabinet meeting. “The word ‘affordability’ is a Democrat scam.”

Lately, voters have expressed frustration with Trump’s handling of the economy. Around two-thirds of registered voters say the Trump administration has fallen short on the economy and the cost of living, according to a recent poll.

When asked about Trump’s comments on Sunday, Bessent said that the administration was dealing with inflation issues leftover from the Biden administration and pointed to media coverage as a source of Americans’ views of the economy. 

“The American people don’t know how good they have it,” he said. “Now, Democrats created scarcity, whether it was in energy or over-regulation, that we are now seeing this affordability problem, and I think next year we’re going to move on to prosperity.”

Trade talks with China keep key agreements on track

On related developments, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says China has been adhering to the terms of the bilateral trade agreements, and Washington continues to closely monitor Beijing’s commitments to maintain a stable trade relationship.

“With China, it’s always a matter of verifying, monitoring, and tracking commitments. These commitments are very specific,” Greer said Sunday on Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing. “All of the agreements we’ve reached with China recently are concrete, easy to monitor, and so far, we are seeing that they are in compliance.”

Greer noted that China has fulfilled roughly “a third” of its soybean purchase obligations for the current growing season. Previous reports indicate that following a series of orders in late October—the first of this season—China’s purchases of U.S. soybeans appeared to slow.

In late October, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to extend a tariff truce, roll back certain export controls, and reduce other trade barriers. However, several components of the deal—including soybean purchases, the sale of social media app TikTok, and expanded licenses for exporting critical rare earths from China—are still underway.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Greer held a video call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Friday, according to China’s state-run news agency Xinhua, during which the officials had an “in-depth and constructive” discussion in which they vowed to keep stable ties and address “respective concerns” on trade and the economy.

On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that China is not expected to accelerate its soybean purchases, though they are still anticipated to occur during this crop season.

Claim your free seat in an exclusive crypto trading community - limited to 1,000 members.