Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday defended the administration’s aggressive trade policies, unveiling a comprehensive “3 through 3” economic blueprint designed to sustain high GDP growth while neutralizing “structural inflation.”

Deconstructing critics’ claims that import penalties harm American consumers, Bessent argued that persistent price pressures are rooted in domestic services rather than the government’s newly revived global trade barriers.

The Tariff Reboot And Service-Sector Inflation

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on CNBC, Bessent dismissed warnings that defensive economic measures spike consumer costs.

“People like to say that it’s added to inflation, but when you look at the data, the structural inflation has been in services,” Bessent clarified, noting that service-sector dynamics are entirely insulated from global import markets.

To protect American manufacturing and strengthen national security, the Treasury Secretary confirmed the administration has actively “rebooted the tariff program.”

The current framework utilizes Section 122 tariffs to establish a temporary 10% global baseline while the administration awaits the completion of deeper Section 301 supply chain studies.

If successful, Bessent stated, “the tariff rates are going to go back to exactly where they were.” He noted that using this economic leverage has already successfully pressured global allies to lower non-tariff barriers and rewrite trade rules in America’s favor.

Inside The ‘3 Through 3’ Economic Blueprint

To anchor long-term fiscal health, Bessent outlined his signature “3 through 3” economic framework, a triple-pronged strategy to foster macroeconomic growth without triggering localized inflation.

The plan relies on maintaining a robust 3% GDP growth rate, expanding energy production by an equivalent of 3 million more barrels of oil and gas per day, and slashing the national deficit to 3% of GDP. Bessent pointed out that the deficit has dropped significantly under recent spending contractions.

By lowering the deficit-to-GDP ratio to the 3% target by the end of the presidential term, the U.S. will successfully begin “paying down overall debt as a percent of the economy,” paving the way for a highly productive, non-inflationary future.

How Have Markets Performed In 2026?

The S&P 500 index has advanced 7.29% year-to-date. Similarly, the Nasdaq Composite index was up 9.64%, and the Dow Jones gained 7.16% YTD.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, closed lower on Wednesday. The SPY ended down 0.046% at $733.24, while the QQQ declined by 0.42% to $710.62.

Meanwhile, the Dow tracker, State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA), closed 0.37% higher on Wednesday.