Bessent: U.S. growth could exceed 3.5% this year despite the Iran war

Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, said on Tuesday that the U.S. economy is still supported by strong fundamentals and that its growth could exceed 3%—or even 3.5%—during the current year, despite the repercussions of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

Bessent added that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank lowering their forecasts for global growth and raising their estimates for inflation is an overestimation, noting that the IMF cut its projections due to higher energy prices resulting from the Iran war.

He said during the “Wall Street Journal Opinion Live” event in Washington: “I believe the fundamentals of the economy remain strong”, emphasizing that growth could easily surpass 3% or 3.5% this year.

He also said that the war led to higher oil prices and disruptions in global markets, in addition to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz—through which, before the war, about 20% of global oil and natural gas exports were transported.

He further expected that U.S. tariffs imposed on other countries could return to their previous levels by July, after a February decision by the Supreme Court that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when imposing broad-based tariffs under the Emergency Powers law.