Trump admin won't give AI leaders a 'liability shield,' Bessent tells CNBC

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the Trump administration will not grant AI developers a liability shield, insisting companies must "take responsibility for themselves" and that "it is humans who are responsible, not the AI." He acknowledged some industry calls to slow model development but said the White House backs expansion of AI and data centers. Bessent described a 12-hour meeting with Chinese vice premier He Lifeng ahead of President Xi Jinping’s Washington visit, saying the talks formalized continued discussions likely to include a Shenzhen meeting and an APEC appearance. The officials explored opening a channel for AI-related incidents - covering uncontrollable agents, cyber nonstate actors and bio threats - and flagged the Nov. 10 expiration of the U.S.-China temporary trade truce.

Bessent also covered economic and political flashpoints: he predicted interest rates will fall once the Iran war ends and oil supplies normalize, defended a Sept. 10 Treasury buyback of more than $5 billion of 10- and 20-year notes as "successful" despite the 10-year yield rising roughly 100 basis points to above 5% and mortgage rates topping 7%. He noted the Fed’s unanimous rate hike to a 3.75%-4% target to tackle inflation. On media, he backed President Trump’s ban of MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House as a response to "perceived bias," even as those outlets sued on First Amendment grounds, and confirmed Trump will greet Xi on the Andrews tarmac.