Overview

• U.S. consumer prices rose 2.3% year-over-year in April, marking the slowest pace since early 2021.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent credits the latest inflation figures as vindication of President Trump’s April tariff measures.
• He dismissed predictions of tariff-driven price spikes and warned that the full economic impact may still lie ahead.
• Bessent cited a South China Morning Post study showing Chinese suppliers absorbing up to 66% of tariff costs and noted recent price gains in energy, eggs and food.
• The administration is pursuing a strategy to ‘de-risk’ key imports from China even as formal trade negotiations remain stalled.