US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said that he sold his soybean farm last week, something that he was required to do under an ethics agreement when he took office.
While appearing for CBS' 'Face the Nation' programme on Sunday, Bessent spoke about the agricultural sector, including his own experiences running a soybean farm.
“I'm involved in the agriculture industry… I run a soybean farm,” the US Treasury Secretary said, in reply to which he was asked, “You own it, or invest in it?”
“People in my family go out and work on it,” was Bessent's response.
“I actually divested it this week as part of my ethics agreement, so I'm out of that business but I probably know more about it than any Treasury Secretary,” he explained, clarifying his role in the operations of the farm.
Bessent's involvement in agriculture
The New York Times, in August this year, had reported that Bessent, whose net worth is estimated at more than $500 million, owned corn and soybean farmland in North Dakota worth as much as $25 million. The US Treasury secretary also earned up to $1 million in annual rental income from the farms, NYT reported.
As part of his ethics agreement while taking office, Bessent was required to divest his assets, including the farmland.
However, the Treasury Secretary missed several deadlines to adhere to the requirements of the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE), and his announcement on Sunday came days ahead of his latest latest extended deadline, which was reported to be 15 December.
The US-China soybean deal
Bessent's comments also come amid China agreeing to restart soybean purchases from the US after months of halting the same.
The breakthrough came in October following US President Donald Trump's meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, with China committing at least 12 million metric tonnes worth of soybean purchases for the season.
Bessent said that while China was honouring its agreement, US farmers would still need short-term bailout till there was more certainty about Beijing's commitment—"I can tell you that what farmers need is certainty."
“We are going to create this bridge because, again, agriculture is all about the future, you've got to start financing for planting next year, when things will be very good,” the US Treasury Secretary said, commenting on the ‘bridge’ payout that is supposed to begin this week, as announced earlier by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
