Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, said the US would continue to pursue a "strong dollar" policy under Mr. Trump. "President Trump has not changed his strong dollar policy at all," Mr. Bessent said in an interview on Thursday. "We want a strong dollar. We don't want to see other countries weaken their currencies and manipulate their trade." Because many countries "accumulated large surpluses, there was no free-form trading system," Mr. Bescent said. Part of the explanation could be exchange rates, he said, and "interest rate suppression" could also be a factor in some places, without naming specific countries.