Tariff Power: Trump’s Bold Policies Spark Historic Economic Comeback

Paul Riverbank, 1/9/2026Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touts robust U.S. growth, crediting Trump administration policies—tariffs, tax cuts, and deregulation—for a “historic turnaround.” With rising productivity, major investments, and assertive trade stances, the administration presents an optimistic outlook on jobs, wages, and American economic leadership at home and abroad.

Observers in the crowd thumbed their phones for updates—cautiously optimistic, some might say. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow metric, a tracker some on Wall Street watch like a hawk, pointed at 5.4% annualized growth late in 2025. The trade deficit? The narrowest since the late 2000s, a point that garnered more than a few raised eyebrows in business circles. “We’re starting to see the effects of the president’s policies kick in,” Joe Lavorgna, a grizzled Treasury counselor, quipped backstage.

Bessent didn’t come empty-handed with bumper stickers—he toted a mantra: “the three I’s”—investment, innovation, and income—claiming these had replaced the old talk of rising inflation and high-interest rates, the very problems often pinned on the prior administration. There was a directness, almost pointed, in his reminder. “In just one short year, President Trump has delivered a historic economic turnaround,” he told the chilly audience.

Of all the levers pulled, tariffs dominated the discussion. Bessent, defying many economists’ warnings, credited the administration’s trade stances not just for a 12% spurt in business investment over three quarters, but for jumpstarting major deals close to home. In Minnesota, for example, Amazon reportedly dropped $120 billion into expansion, while local heavyweights such as Medtronic, 3M, and General Mills followed suit with a combined investment running in the billions. “It’s not just policy,” Bessent said, “it’s payroll. It’s boots in factories right here.”

Then—and this seemed to genuinely light up some faces—he detailed a breakthrough soybean agreement with China. For the next three years, Beijing is now obliged, at least on paper, to buy 25 million metric tons of American soybeans annually. “For Minnesota’s farmers, that’s not trivia—it’s sales, it’s stability,” he emphasized. Farm leaders in the audience nodded, well aware of the unpredictability that’s dogged the market the last decade.

On taxes, Bessent outlined the recently enacted Working Families Tax Cut Act, a sweeping overhaul aimed at both business and working folks. The new law lets companies immediately write off investments—machines, factories, that sort of thing. “This is the CapEx Comeback,” he said, using Wall Street shorthand. More investment, he stressed, should nudge prices lower and goods higher, at least in economic theory. And with a nod to families, Bessent highlighted “Trump Accounts”—$1,000 set aside for every newborn, with the hope (perhaps optimism) that these accounts might swell to half a million dollars by retirement age. “Today, 38 percent of adults don’t own stock. We can fix that—over time,” he added, his words hanging with a note of salesmanship.

The secretary also floated an unusual ask: that business leaders consider matching the starter funds for their employees’ children, as another way to cultivate loyalty at home. It was met with the polite silence with which corporate America often greets new government ideas—interested, but withholding judgment.

Regulation received measured criticism. Bessent traced the evaporation of nearly half the nation’s community banks back to post-crisis legislation, arguing that so-called “too big to fail” rules had effectively made many community lenders “too small to succeed.” For small-town bank executives in the room, the line hit home.

A recurring worry for labor economists cropped up: would climbing productivity just mean fatter profit margins, not fatter wallets? Bessent, quoting longtime economic advisor Lawrence Lindsey, countered that higher output per worker is the best bet for real wage growth—just not always overnight. Data from Treasury was cited—real weekly wages reportedly up over 1% in Trump’s first year, against a documented drop earlier in the decade.

If families were in focus, so were their tax bills. He claimed the tax reforms had stopped what he called a $4.5 trillion tax hike, asserting that the typical worker would keep over $7,000 more a year. Families with four people, he suggested, might see nearly $11,000 left on the table. Add in a juiced-up child tax credit, retirement tax relief, and the quirky elimination of taxes on tips and overtime, and Bessent insisted the calculus for working Americans had fundamentally shifted. “Tax refunds will come sooner—and just wait for the size,” he enthused, making a note of the unusually early start to tax season.

Of course, not everything in Minneapolis was a victory lap. Bessent didn’t dodge the elephant in the room: a notorious welfare fraud case that rocked Minnesota, with billions allegedly siphoned through lax oversight and overregulation. He was blunt—this was bureaucracy gone wrong, and he promised tough recovery and prosecution efforts.

On foreign policy and trade, the talk turned more hawkish. As reports filtered in that both China and India had dramatically increased their purchases of Russian oil, Bessent signaled that punitive tariffs—upwards of 500 percent—were on the table for any nation fueling what the U.S. sees as Putin’s war chest via energy deals. “You can buy from Russia or you can sell to us, but you can’t have it both ways,” read the administration’s position. Senator Lindsey Graham put it more colorfully, warning that this was about more than dollars—it was about leverage in global affairs.

India, meanwhile, pushed back. Their officials maintained they were simply scrambling to secure affordable crude as global energy markets lurched. Official Indian data contradicted U.S. claims that their Russian oil imports were falling; in fact, November saw figures spike to a six-month high. As for China and India together, they now make up the lion’s share of Russia’s energy exports.

In the background, oil market speculation swirled: major U.S. firms like Chevron and Quantum Capital Group were reportedly circling over Russian oil assets, with eyes on a potential $22 billion play that could shake up supply chains yet again.

Bessent, for his part, steered his pitch back to optimism. “This is what turning the ship looks like,” he told those gathered—emphasizing new jobs, rising wages, and increasing American control over both domestic prosperity and international markets. He urged local business leaders to keep investing, a plea delivered as much with hope as with conviction. Whatever skepticism still lingered in the room, there was no mistaking the message: the administration sees the economic narrative as one of revival, with the promise—if not always the guarantee—of brighter days ahead.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stepped into the harsh glow of the Minneapolis convention hall with a purposeful stride, wasting no time before declaring that America’s economic forecast had pulled a sharp U-turn. For Bessent, this was no mere campaign slogan—he pointed to sweeping policy choices issued from the White House: new tariffs, tax breaks, and regulatory rollbacks taken, he argued, not for optics but for effect. “We’re not talking theory,” he said, jabbing a thumb at the screen behind him. The numbers—particularly the latest productivity jump—had come as a jolt even to seasoned analysts who make a living betting on disappointment.Observers in the crowd thumbed their phones for updates—cautiously optimistic, some might say. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow metric, a tracker some on Wall Street watch like a hawk, pointed at 5.4% annualized growth late in 2025. The trade deficit? The narrowest since the late 2000s, a point that garnered more than a few raised eyebrows in business circles. “We’re starting to see the effects of the president’s policies kick in,” Joe Lavorgna, a grizzled Treasury counselor, quipped backstage.Bessent didn’t come empty-handed with bumper stickers—he toted a mantra: “the three I’s”—investment, innovation, and income—claiming these had replaced the old talk of rising inflation and high-interest rates, the very problems often pinned on the prior administration. There was a directness, almost pointed, in his reminder. “In just one short year, President Trump has delivered a historic economic turnaround,” he told the chilly audience.Of all the levers pulled, tariffs dominated the discussion. Bessent, defying many economists’ warnings, credited the administration’s trade stances not just for a 12% spurt in business investment over three quarters, but for jumpstarting major deals close to home. In Minnesota, for example, Amazon reportedly dropped $120 billion into expansion, while local heavyweights such as Medtronic, 3M, and General Mills followed suit with a combined investment running in the billions. “It’s not just policy,” Bessent said, “it’s payroll. It’s boots in factories right here.”Then—and this seemed to genuinely light up some faces—he detailed a breakthrough soybean agreement with China. For the next three years, Beijing is now obliged, at least on paper, to buy 25 million metric tons of American soybeans annually. “For Minnesota’s farmers, that’s not trivia—it’s sales, it’s stability,” he emphasized. Farm leaders in the audience nodded, well aware of the unpredictability that’s dogged the market the last decade.On taxes, Bessent outlined the recently enacted Working Families Tax Cut Act, a sweeping overhaul aimed at both business and working folks. The new law lets companies immediately write off investments—machines, factories, that sort of thing. “This is the CapEx Comeback,” he said, using Wall Street shorthand. More investment, he stressed, should nudge prices lower and goods higher, at least in economic theory. And with a nod to families, Bessent highlighted “Trump Accounts”—$1,000 set aside for every newborn, with the hope (perhaps optimism) that these accounts might swell to half a million dollars by retirement age. “Today, 38 percent of adults don’t own stock. We can fix that—over time,” he added, his words hanging with a note of salesmanship.The secretary also floated an unusual ask: that business leaders consider matching the starter funds for their employees’ children, as another way to cultivate loyalty at home. It was met with the polite silence with which corporate America often greets new government ideas—interested, but withholding judgment.Regulation received measured criticism. Bessent traced the evaporation of nearly half the nation’s community banks back to post-crisis legislation, arguing that so-called “too big to fail” rules had effectively made many community lenders “too small to succeed.” For small-town bank executives in the room, the line hit home.A recurring worry for labor economists cropped up: would climbing productivity just mean fatter profit margins, not fatter wallets? Bessent, quoting longtime economic advisor Lawrence Lindsey, countered that higher output per worker is the best bet for real wage growth—just not always overnight. Data from Treasury was cited—real weekly wages reportedly up over 1% in Trump’s first year, against a documented drop earlier in the decade.If families were in focus, so were their tax bills. He claimed the tax reforms had stopped what he called a $4.5 trillion tax hike, asserting that the typical worker would keep over $7,000 more a year. Families with four people, he suggested, might see nearly $11,000 left on the table. Add in a juiced-up child tax credit, retirement tax relief, and the quirky elimination of taxes on tips and overtime, and Bessent insisted the calculus for working Americans had fundamentally shifted. “Tax refunds will come sooner—and just wait for the size,” he enthused, making a note of the unusually early start to tax season.Of course, not everything in Minneapolis was a victory lap. Bessent didn’t dodge the elephant in the room: a notorious welfare fraud case that rocked Minnesota, with billions allegedly siphoned through lax oversight and overregulation. He was blunt—this was bureaucracy gone wrong, and he promised tough recovery and prosecution efforts.On foreign policy and trade, the talk turned more hawkish. As reports filtered in that both China and India had dramatically increased their purchases of Russian oil, Bessent signaled that punitive tariffs—upwards of 500 percent—were on the table for any nation fueling what the U.S. sees as Putin’s war chest via energy deals. “You can buy from Russia or you can sell to us, but you can’t have it both ways,” read the administration’s position. Senator Lindsey Graham put it more colorfully, warning that this was about more than dollars—it was about leverage in global affairs.India, meanwhile, pushed back. Their officials maintained they were simply scrambling to secure affordable crude as global energy markets lurched. Official Indian data contradicted U.S. claims that their Russian oil imports were falling; in fact, November saw figures spike to a six-month high. As for China and India together, they now make up the lion’s share of Russia’s energy exports.In the background, oil market speculation swirled: major U.S. firms like Chevron and Quantum Capital Group were reportedly circling over Russian oil assets, with eyes on a potential $22 billion play that could shake up supply chains yet again.Bessent, for his part, steered his pitch back to optimism. “This is what turning the ship looks like,” he told those gathered—emphasizing new jobs, rising wages, and increasing American control over both domestic prosperity and international markets. He urged local business leaders to keep investing, a plea delivered as much with hope as with conviction. Whatever skepticism still lingered in the room, there was no mistaking the message: the administration sees the economic narrative as one of revival, with the promise—if not always the guarantee—of brighter days ahead.