Treasury Secretary Bessent Addresses Fed Policy, Inflation Trends, and 2026 Growth Outlook at Semafor Event

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke at the Semafor World Economy conference in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2026. He participated in a 23-minute interview at the Semafor World Economy’s inaugural Treasury Secretary Dinner at the Library of Congress.

During the interview with Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith, Bessent addressed interest rates, inflation, and economic growth. Bessent told Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith that the Federal Reserve should wait and see before lowering interest rates. He said, 'Do I think rates should be lowered?

' Bessent stated that the economy was very strong coming out of January and February 2026.

The U.S. government reported that inflation rose three times faster in March 2026 than in February 2026 amid surging oil and gas costs. Inflation excluding food and energy rose slightly less than forecasters had anticipated in March 2026.

Bessent stated that recent price increases are unlikely to embed into long-term inflation expectations, calling them 'transitory'. Bessent stated that he does not believe the current inflation will get embedded into inflation expectations. He said, 'If ever there was ‘Team Transitory,’ it’s this,' regarding inflation.

Bessent added that the Federal Reserve is doing the right thing by sitting and watching the Iran conflict.

2026 Bessent stated that the economy would grow more than 4% this year.

He said that the economy will have some make-up to do regarding growth projections for 2026. Bessent added that in theory the economy could still grow more than 4% in 2026 even with a big catch-up. Bessent said the Iran conflict will be looked back on as providing 50 years of stability after 50 or 100 or more days.

U.S. dollar has strengthened.