Steven Mnuchin, who served as Secretary of the Treasury in the first Donald Trump administration, stated, "No matter what the credit rating agencies say, I still believe the credit rating of the United States is Aaa."
On the 21st (local time), former Secretary Mnuchin participated as a speaker at the 5th Qatar Economic Forum (QEF) held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and said, "I would buy US Treasury bonds over other Aaa-rated bonds," expressing this view.
Previously, on the 16th, international credit rating agency Moody's downgraded the US sovereign credit rating from the highest grade of Aaa to Aa1, which led to a sharp rise in US Treasury yields.
Former Secretary Mnuchin pointed out that the credit rating downgrade likely had some impact on the fluctuations in Treasury yields. However, he added, "I believe the rise was due to the Federal Reserve (Fed) holding off on lowering the benchmark interest rate, as well as the large fiscal deficit."
He also stated, "The fiscal deficit is a bigger problem than the trade deficit," and emphasized, "We need to make further cuts in budget spending."
Referring to his experience in the first Trump administration, Mnuchin said, "President Trump always focuses on trade. If the Chinese market can be opened to American companies, there will be tremendous opportunities, and tariffs play an important role in bringing parties to the negotiating table."
He further added, "We are going to see significant changes, and as a result, there will be clear winners and losers."
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