How Scott Bessent's 'economic statecraft' aims to justify US coercion

How Scott Bessent's 'economic statecraft' aims to justify US coercion Submitted by Marco Carnelos on Thu, 07/09/2026 - 20:02 The treasury secretary has made a candid admission: Washington intends to write one set of rules for itself, and another for the rest of the world US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is pictured in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on 6 July 2026 (Mandel Ngan/AFP) On Amid the country’s 250th anniversary festivities, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month delivered an important address, aiming to present a coherent doctrine of “economic statecraft”. Stripping away references to one of the nation’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, what remains is a remarkably candid admission: Washington intends to write one set of rules for itself, and another for everyone else. The speech was less a strategy than a confession; an articulation of double standards so unselfconscious that it mistakes coercion for principle.