U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said on the 19th (local time) that U.S. tariff revenue will significantly exceed $300 billion this year, and plans to use it first for debt repayment and then distribute some of it to the public.

In an interview with CNBC on the same day, Secretary Bessant said, "I have been saying that tariff revenue could reach $300 billion this year, and we need to significantly revise that upward."

He added, "We will begin debt repayment to lower the fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP, and after that, I believe it can be used as an income compensation measure for the American people."

When questioned about imposing high tariffs on India for importing Russian oil while China also imports it, Secretary Bessant countered, "Looking back before the (Russian) invasion of Ukraine, 13% of China's oil was already coming from Russia. Now it's 16%."

He continued, "India was less than 1% (before the Ukraine war). Now it has risen to 42%. India is price gouging and reselling it," and pointed out, "This Indian behavior, which could be called 'Indian arbitrage,' meaning buying cheap Russian oil and reselling it as products, is something that has suddenly emerged during the war and is unacceptable."

Meanwhile, regarding the selection of the next Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman, Secretary Bessant said, "I will meet with 11 strong candidates just before or after Labor Day," and "I will narrow down the list and submit it to President Trump."

He added, "These are people who are currently on the Fed, have been on the Fed in the past, or are in the private sector. I look forward to meeting all of them with an open mind."

CNBC previously reported that in addition to the eight previously mentioned candidates for the next Fed chairman, the list includes David Jervos, Chief Market Strategist at investment bank Jefferies, former Fed Governor Larry Lindsey, and Rick Ryder, Chief Investment Officer of Fixed Income at asset management firm BlackRock.

The previously mentioned candidates include current Fed board members Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, Governor Christopher Waller, and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, as well as Mark Summerlin, former Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (NEC) under President George W. Bush, Lorie Logan, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, James Bullard, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the White House National Economic Council, and Kevin Warsh, former Fed Governor, who were publicly mentioned by President Trump.

Secretary Bessant reiterated the need for interest rate cuts by the Fed, as urged by the Trump administration, to stimulate the housing market.

He stated, "I am looking at the distributional effects of high interest rates, particularly in the housing sector and for low-income households with high credit card debt." He diagnosed, "Capital expenditures are doing well, but households and home construction are struggling."

He argued, "Interest rate cuts could promote an increase in home construction, which would keep housing prices low for the next one to two years."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant. Yonhap News. 

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