Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, is hosting the G20 finance ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, and sat down there with CNBC's Sara Eisen for an interview that ran from the Iran blockade and the oil price to the bond market, the Federal Reserve, the yen, his public fight with Senator Elizabeth Warren and the trade breakdown with Canada.
👤 Guest: Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, hosting the G20 finance ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina
🎙️ Host: Sara Eisen, CNBC anchor, reporting from the G20 in Asheville
📰 Published: 31 August 2026 on CNBC's Squawk on the Street podcast feed
🟢 Spotify | 🟣 Apple Podcasts | 🔗 Episode page | ⏱️ 13 min
Key Takeaways
Oil, tariffs and growth are one question, and what the finance ministers want from it is certainty
"And, you know, I think what people are looking for is certainty."
He said Europe's own Draghi report calls for what the US is already doing: deregulation, energy certainty, tax certainty
The aim in Iran is not regime change but a set of conditions that make the regime want to negotiate
"The goal here is to create the conditions that they will want to come to the table."
The four demands: give up the nuclear program, hand over the highly enriched uranium, stop supporting proxies, reopen the strait
He says the squeeze works without Chinese cooperation, because the blockade has already drained the oil at sea
"That, well, you can, because one of the things is there's only the 30 million barrels of Iranian oil left on the water because of the blockade."
Even Chinese remittances, he said, run out once that oil is gone
The US bond market is the best performer in the world this month, which is his answer to almost every bond question
"U.S. bond market this month will have been the best performing bond market. The 30-year, the yield is down. The 10-year, the yield is flat. No other major bond market can say that."
He added that Fitch reaffirmed the US rating two weeks ago and it got no attention
He is not trying to change the direction of yields, only the speed
"I don't believe that I can change the equilibrium price, but nothing is ever in equilibrium."
"Mine is to speed things down and make sure that everything is fact-based to let market participants know that things maybe aren't a one-way trip."
The AI build-out is not crowding out borrowers, it is buying a productivity boom he expects to be disinflationary
"So whether it's in three or six months, we are creating productivity that will be, I suspect, disinflationary."
A supply shock is not the textbook case for raising rates, and he will not say what the Fed should do in September
"And traditionally, you don't raise until a supply shock unless you see second or third order effects, and we are seeing the core inflation has remained very, very restrained."
The expanded buybacks have not bought a single bond yet, and he says the announcement alone did the work
"And Sara, by the way, that I haven't bought anything yet." — the first operation is 9 September
A fiscal consolidation package with budget director Russ Vought is coming in weeks or months
Druckenmiller is a great investor who changes his mind a lot, and who he thinks lost money on his own op-ed
"I think he lost money the day he sent in the editorial."
His counter to the op-ed's argument: "Again, my job is to make sure that the market is looking at fundamentals and that the market does not dictate policy."
On the yen he cannot move the equilibrium either, but he says he has information the market does not
"And as I've said, I have information that the market doesn't have."
He is running the midterm economic argument now, and it is aimed at Warren as much as at Biden
"Well, that's great because they torched the American people. 21.5 percent the inflation during Biden's term and Elizabeth Warren, so this is the Biden-Warren economy."
He says the US cannot be in a tit-for-tat with a country a thirteenth its size, and that Carney walked away from the best deal on offer
"They're going to take their two submarines from the Edmonton Mall and sic them on us."
"And he chose to walk away from it at the last minute."
Oil, Tariffs and Growth Are One Question, and What the Room Wants Is Certainty
Eisen opened on the difficulty of selling a growth agenda to finance ministers and central bankers who are more worried about high oil prices and tariffs. Bessent's answer was that the two are not separate problems.
"Well, they're all linked." He said oil prices are going to come down, and that the Iran conflict is the thing standing between the current moment and a clearer picture
"And, you know, I think what people are looking for is certainty."
"We reached a lot of trade deals last year."
The US agenda is not, in his telling, an American peculiarity. He pointed the room at Europe's own diagnosis: "If you take Europe, the Draghi report is many of the things that we're doing here in the U.S. It's deregulation. It's energy certainty. It's tax certainty."
Eisen noted that he has now said several times that the US will get to the other side of the Iran conflict, and asked what time frame he has in mind
The Blockade and Operation Economic Outcast Are What Bring Iran to the Table
There is no date, Bessent said. The timing turns on when the regime decides it wants to negotiate.
He put the pressure campaign and the blockade together as the mechanism. "As President Trump has been saying over the past few weeks, he doesn't think they're ready to make a deal and I think that Operation Economic Outcast is going to make them want to make a deal between that and the blockade."
"They are cut off." He said Iran's elected leadership is now complaining openly about the state of the economy, and reading his own signal into who they are talking to — the hardliners in public, and the Iranian people
On the damage: he named the currency's collapse and inflation, and Eisen put the inflation figure to him — "It's almost 100 percent."
"I think food inflation's much higher. We're seeing gas lines."
Eisen pushed on whether any of that matters to a government that does not care about its population. Bessent's answer was about the leadership rather than the country: "Look, my experience with people like this, the main thing they care about is their head staying attached to their neck."
He was explicit that the objective is not stated as regime change. "The goal here is to create the conditions that they will want to come to the table."
The terms, as he listed them: "They have to give up their nuclear program. They have to turn over the highly enriched uranium, and they have to stop their support of proxies, and the strait has to be open."
Why He Says the Squeeze Works Without China
Eisen noted that Treasury has already sanctioned an Egyptian bank and that he has hinted another is coming, then asked the harder question: can Iran be crushed economically without China, which has been resistant. Bessent would not concede the premise.
"But I would push back on that false narrative, that somehow the media has jumped on this, oh, you can't do it without China."
Told that China has been resistant publicly, he said only that "Well, you don't know that", and that with many countries the work is better done in private
The mechanism he gave is the stock of oil at sea, not Chinese cooperation. "That, well, you can, because one of the things is there's only the 30 million barrels of Iranian oil left on the water because of the blockade."
Even if Iran were to get remittances from China, he said, that oil runs out
On China he claimed more agreement than disagreement. "The Chinese agree that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. The Chinese agree that the Strait must be open to free and fair ship transit"
He confirmed a meeting with Governor Pan the previous night, after Eisen asked whether he was meeting the Chinese finance minister at the summit, and refused to characterize it beyond that
Eisen, on being told the rest was private: "Asymmetric information."
"We do have the information. And over time, we win."
He and Kevin Warsh Are on the Same Page, and the Page Says the US Bond Market Is the World's Best
Eisen moved to the flight down, which Bessent shared with Fed chairman Kevin Warsh, and asked what they discussed. "The weather, our tennis games." Pressed on whether they agree about bonds, he said of course they do.
The claim he came back to all interview. "U.S. bond market this month will have been the best performing bond market. The 30-year, the yield is down. The 10-year, the yield is flat. No other major bond market can say that."
On the longer window: "We are, the 10-year yield is flat since President Trump came in."
He used a rating action as corroboration while disclaiming ratings. "And I'm not hung up on what rating agencies say, but two weeks ago, Fitch reaffirmed the U.S. rating. That was an inconvenient truth, so it didn't get any publicity."
His test for whether there is a problem is relative, not absolute. "And if there were a problem in the U.S. bond market, Sara, then people would be selling U.S. bonds and buying other countries' bonds. But we are the best performing market."
Eisen's counter was that a global move up in yields is exactly what makes it hard for one Treasury secretary to change the direction
He Is Not Trying to Change the Direction of Yields, Only the Speed
This is where the interview's central disagreement sat, and Bessent reframed the job rather than defending the outcome.
"Well, I didn't say I was trying to change the direction. I don't believe that I can change the equilibrium price, but nothing is ever in equilibrium. You're either moving from equilibrium or away from equilibrium."
What he says his role actually is: "Mine is to speed things down and make sure that everything is fact-based to let market participants know that things maybe aren't a one-way trip."
He then took on the argument that financing the AI build-out is squeezing other borrowers out of the credit market. Eisen supplied the term he was reaching for — "Crowding out." — and he rejected the framing
"So whether it's in three or six months, we are creating productivity that will be, I suspect, disinflationary."
A Supply Shock Is Not the Case for Raising Rates, and the Buybacks Have Not Started
Eisen asked whether he would be comfortable with a Fed rate rise in September, given how resistant the administration has been to higher rates.
He declined the question and then answered around it. "Sorry, I'm not going to speculate on what the Fed may do or not."
"Again, it is my belief that we've seen a supply shock. And traditionally, you don't raise until a supply shock unless you see second or third order effects, and we are seeing the core inflation has remained very, very restrained."
On why the expanded long-dated buybacks have not visibly changed the path of yields, he offered the counterfactual. "Well, I'll give you the counterfactual. But what if I hadn't done it?"
And then the detail that carries it: "And Sara, by the way, that I haven't bought anything yet." Eisen dated the first operation — "Right. September 9th. But the signal should have been clear."
"Look, I'm fine with it. The market is the market."
A second fiscal announcement is queued behind the buybacks. He said he and budget director Russ Vought are "working on a fiscal consolidation package that we'll be talking about more in the coming weeks or months"
Druckenmiller Is a Great Investor Who Changes His Mind, and Who He Thinks Lost Money on the Op-Ed
Eisen raised Stanley Druckenmiller's public op-ed against the buyback program, and noted that Bessent has described Druckenmiller as his mentor.
His first answer was the bond-market claim again, not a defense of the policy on its merits
Then the personal one, after Eisen asked whether the two had spoken since. "Stan's a great investor. He changes his mind a lot. And he doesn't like losing money. I think he lost money the day he sent in the editorial."
Eisen restated the op-ed's actual argument — that the 30-year Treasury should be left alone to impose fiscal discipline on the government — and Bessent answered it with the reverse principle: "Again, my job is to make sure that the market is looking at fundamentals and that the market does not dictate policy."
The exchange turned personal in the other direction, twice. Eisen pointed out that he used to be one of the hedge fund managers he describes as trying to speed markets up — "You were one of them." — and he agreed
She then named his own trades: "I mean, this is classic what you did, right? Betting against the British pound and the Japanese yen, identifying weakness and whether it's fiscal policy or monetary credibility."
"Yes, but again, Sara, I think you're missing the point that the U.S. is the best performing bond market." and then: "So I'm not sure where the weakness is."
On the Yen, He Says He Has Information the Market Does Not
Eisen turned to the yen intervention, noting the currency has gone back to 160 — not quite the 164 level at which the intervention happened — and that questions remain about whether it worked.
The same equilibrium argument, applied to a currency. He said he cannot affect the natural equilibrium, and then: "What we can do is send a signal. And as I've said, I have information that the market doesn't have. And it's my belief that the Japanese government and that the BOJ will do the things that will lead to a stronger yen."
Eisen read that as Japanese rate rises, and he did not contradict her — "I think the market's pricing that in now."
Warren's Letter, and the Midterm Argument He Is Already Running
Eisen described the exchange of letters with Senator Elizabeth Warren, including that his reply offered her "foreign exchange for dummies", and that Warren had responded again.
His complaint is about competence, and about the press. He said neither Warren nor her staff knows the difference between a foreign exchange intervention and a currency swap, a sentence Eisen finished for him by adding a loan to the list, and then: "So it is shameful, shameful, and more shameful is that the media hasn't called her out on it."
Eisen pressed the Democrats' actual line of attack, that the administration should be focused on the cost of living rather than distracted by other things, and said it is being sharpened for the midterms
He answered by naming the opponent he wants. "Well, that's great because they torched the American people. 21.5 percent the inflation during Biden's term and Elizabeth Warren, so this is the Biden-Warren economy."
He said Warren placed a lot of the people in the Biden administration, and that she would call them her sock puppets
His causal claim about that inflation is a spending claim. He cited a study from MIT that he said shows almost 50% of the great inflation came from the out-of-control spending of the period
"So we had a price level problem. We are bringing prices down."
He returned to core inflation being tame and to the energy supply shock as the current pressure
Canada Is Not a Tit-for-Tat, Because of the Size Difference
Eisen asked whether the US is now in a tit-for-tat trade war with Canada, ahead of his meeting with his Canadian counterpart at the summit. Bessent rejected the framing on arithmetic before he rejected it on politics.
"Well, I don't think you can be in a tit-for-tat with someone who's 13 times larger than you are."
Eisen: "They say they're doing OK." Bessent: "What else are they going to say?"
He blamed Prime Minister Mark Carney personally for turning the dispute into what he called a political shouting match, and then made the line that will travel: "I mean, we're not at war with Canada. How are we going to be at war with Canada? They're going to take their two submarines from the Edmonton Mall and sic them on us."
His account of Carney's incentives is electoral. He said Carney came to power on an anti-American, anti-Trump agenda, and that "He was 20 points behind in the polls. And then he started this."
"And it's unfortunate that he's not doing what's best for the Canadian people."
On the trade deal itself: "And you know, I will say, that they were offered the best trade deal of any country on the globe. And he chose to walk away from it at the last minute."
The Credentialing Row in the Press Room
Eisen closed on the summit's own story: economics reporters at the G20 who did not get fully credentialed, and whether that was his call.
He did not say whether it was. "Well, I think, Sara, you're here. Three hundred reporters are here. So I think that's the important thing."
Eisen noted that a number of chief executives are at the meeting as well, and that CNBC would be talking to some of them in the following hour
Bessent's bottom line is that nothing he was asked about needs fixing by him: the blockade is already doing to Iran what negotiation could not, the US is the best-performing bond market in the world whatever the level of yields, and his own job is to slow markets down with facts rather than to set a price he says he cannot set anyway.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
Fitch Ratings (Reaffirmed the US rating two weeks earlier, which Bessent called an inconvenient truth that got no publicity)
The Bank of Japan (Bessent said he believes the BOJ and the Japanese government will do the things that lead to a stronger yen, and that the market is now pricing that in)
The People's Bank of China (Bessent said he met Governor Pan at the G20 the night before, in answer to a question about the Chinese finance minister, and would say nothing about what was discussed)
Books & Resources Mentioned
The Draghi report (Europe's own competitiveness report, which Bessent said calls for many of the things the US is already doing — deregulation, energy certainty, tax certainty)
Stanley Druckenmiller's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal (The public case against Treasury's expanded long-dated buybacks that Eisen put to him, and that he answered by saying he thinks Druckenmiller lost money the day he sent it in)
Senator Elizabeth Warren's letter to Bessent on the yen intervention (The letter behind the exchange Eisen raised, and behind the reply she said offered "foreign exchange for dummies")
The MIT study on the great inflation (Bessent said it shows almost 50% of the great inflation came from out-of-control spending; he named neither the study nor its authors on air)
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