WASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a key figure in implementing President Donald Trump’s economic agenda, including tariffs, revealed on Sunday that he recently gave up his interest in a soybean farm to comply with an ethics agreement he signed when he joined the government last January.
Four months ago, the Office of Government Ethics sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee on Aug. 11 saying Bessent failed to comply with certain provisions of the agreement designed to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.
“I’m in the agriculture industry. I run a soybean farm,” Bessant initially told CBS’s “Face the Nation” while discussing the U.S. trade situation for American Farmers. He quickly added: “I actually just divested it this week as part of an ethics agreement. So I’m out of the business.”
According to the New York Times, Bessant owns up to $25 million worth of soybean and corn farmland in North Dakota, including thousands of acres that bring him up to $1 million in rental income annually.
As part of the ethics agreement, Bessent pledged to divest his Key Square Group hedge fund and other assets to avoid conflicts of interest. Many divestitures will be completed by April 28, 2025.
In a statement released by the Treasury Department in August, Bessant said he had completed all but 4% of the divestitures required by the ethics agreement and intended to divest the remaining assets by the end of the year.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Sergio Nong and Diane Kraft)
