ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is meeting this week with the finance ministers of the world’s largest economies, even as the United States continues to disrupt the international order. Aggressive tariffs against key allies and Unpopular war against Iran This keeps gasoline prices high for consumers.
When Bessent held a meeting, group of 20 people He said he wanted to meet with finance ministers in Asheville on Monday and focus on ways to grow the global economy and rein in rising debt. But the event will come later Hostilities reignite between the US and Iranand as Trade tensions with Canada Prices soared following the breakdown in negotiations that led to expanded tariffs.
Bessent he told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday. He said he would increase pressure on Iran by sanctioning another bank as part of what he called an “economic purge operation.” He said the regime was prepared to use “economic violence if necessary.”
Asked by reporters on Monday how long it would take for Iran’s economy to collapse, Bessent said: “I think it will be within weeks or months. The economy doesn’t have to collapse. We just have to bring the regime back to its senses.”
Bessent said the European Union was backing his sanctions efforts with “full support”. The EU said in a statement on Sunday that it welcomed the added economic pressure on Iran and said it would work with the United States and other partners to keep pressure on Iran.
French Finance Minister Laurent Lescure told reporters he expected a global statement from the G20 on an agreed path to global economic growth.
He said the global economy is “a bit like the weather in Asheville: unpredictable and foggy.”
It may be difficult to bring allies together under these circumstances.
Daniel Fried, who served as assistant secretary of state for European affairs in the Republican administration of George W.
If Bessent and other administration officials want international support, he said, “they will need to be even more careful in consulting with allies and partners than the United States has shown in recent months.”
Mr. Bessent is calling for other countries to help the United States isolate Iran in order to force it to surrender during the war, which has now lasted more than six months. The United States attacked Iran again on Sunday, but the administration had previously signaled it would focus on economic pressure rather than military action to achieve its goals.
so far, President Donald Trump It has not followed through on its threat of an “economic D-day” against Iran, instead relying heavily on warnings to Iran’s trading partners. A particular challenge is China, which is the largest buyer of Iranian oil.
Bessent told The Associated Press that “all options are on the table” regarding sanctions for continued Chinese purchases.
But he rejected the idea that the administration was reluctant to confront China, calling it “completely false.” He claimed that China and the United States agree on the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The G20 meeting is being held in Asheville, which was devastated by Hurricane Helen in September 2024. The natural disaster killed more than 250 people and caused nearly $80 billion in damage from Florida to the Carolinas.
Bessent said Asheville, rebuilt after the storm, is a symbolic backdrop for discussions about economic growth.
“We hope the rest of the world will buy into our growth agenda, including deregulation and energy independence, and we also want to discuss global imbalances, banking regulation and sovereign debt restructuring for some developing countries,” Bessent told the Associated Press.
He added: “There’s this mountain of debt in the world and we have to grow our way out of it.”
