Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied that the president's move to implement a blanket pause on his tariffs was the result of declines in the financial markets, arguing the action was part of Trump's strategy all along.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied that chaos in the bond market over the deleveraging of so-called basis trades forced President Trump into putting his global trade tariffs on pause for 90 days.

The sweeping tariffs President Trump announced last week were a "negotiating strategy," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Wednesday as the president announced a 90-day pause on most of those tariffs.