Welcome to The Hill's Business Economy newsletter {beacon} Business Economy Business Economy   The Big Story  Bessent moves to center of Trump World Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, tapped in part to help President Trump keep markets calm, may have had his breakout moment this week. © Greg Nash Bessent spearheaded the rollout of Trump’s 90-day pause on hefty tariffs on trading partners, briefly calming the markets amid increasing pressure from Wall Street for the trade team to shift gears toward negotiating. The Treasury secretary has emerged as the leading voice on trade, winning the microphone from top tariff hawks in the administration, including trade adviser Peter Navarro — a development Republican lawmakers are cheering on vociferously.  “He is a voice that is reassuring and calm when it comes to the news of the day, particularly with regard to what’s happening in the economy and the issues on trade and taxes,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill.  One longtime GOP lobbyist added that Bessent, along with Kevin Hassett, the head of the National Economic Council, are the business community’s “great hope” in the administration to keep it from “fully going over the protectionist cliff” in what has already become an internal tug-of-war.    Read the full report at TheHill.com.   Welcome to The Hill’s Business Economy newsletter, I'm Aris Folley — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  Key business and economic news with implications this week and beyond:   US-China trade war escalates as Beijing hikes tariffs to 125 percent President Trump’s trade war with China was escalated once again Friday morning, after Beijing hiked tariffs on U.S goods to 125 percent.  Full Story   Wall Street Journal asks if Trump has China trade strategy The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal is questioning whether President Trump has a clear agenda on trade as the tariff war with China heats up.  Full Story   US may already be in recession: BlackRock CEO BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said during a recent interview that the United States may already be in a recession or getting very close to one as a result of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs.   Full Story   Tax Watch  Welcome to Tax Watch, a new feature in The Hill's Business Economy newsletter focused on the fight over tax reform and the push to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts this year.   4 Senate Republicans warn against ‘full-scale’ repeal of energy tax credits A group of four Senate Republicans warned against a “full-scale” repeal of energy tax credits passed by Democrats in 2022. “While we support fiscal responsibility and prudent efforts to streamline the tax code, we caution against the full-scale repeal of current credits, which could lead to significant disruptions for the American people and weaken our position as a global energy leader,” wrote Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), John Curtis (Utah), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Jerry Moran (Kan.).  Their letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), is notable since a bloc of four senators could be enough to block Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill from moving forward.  If all four are willing to hold firm, at least some of the incentives for low-carbon energy projects passed by Democrats in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act could remain in place — though it’s not clear from the letter which incentives they hope to keep or whether they’d be open to reducing some of the credits instead of fully axing them.   — Read more here.   The Ticker  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak next Wednesday at the Economic Club of Chicago at 1:30 p.m.   In Other News  Branch out with more stories from the day: Argentina says it will lift the country’s strict currency controls with the help from the IMF BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Javier Milei’s economy minister announced on Friday … Full Story   Good to Know  Business and economic news we've flagged from other outlets: Dow jumps 600 points Friday, capping one of the most volatile weeks on Wall Street ever (CNBC) Trump has 90 days to do 150 trade deals. Financial markets aren’t buying it (CNN) China hits back at US and will raise tariffs on American goods from 84% to 125% (The Associated Press)   What Others are Reading  Top stories on The Hill right now: Social Security Administration ‘will be using X to communicate’ moving forward The Social Security Administration (SSA) unveiled Thursday that it would use the social platform X to make announcements going forward, instead of traditional press releases or memos typically posted to the agency’s website. Read more White House responds to Supreme Court ruling on mistaken deportation The White House on Friday responded to the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Trump administration must “facilitate” the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, rather than “effectuate” the return. Read more   What People Think  Opinions related to business and economic issues submitted to The Hill: The trade shock heard round the world 3 things Trump does well in tariff negotiations, and 3 things he doesn’t get     You're all caught up. See you next week!  Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Business and Economy newsletter Subscribe ...read more read less