The new US Treasury Secretary vows to maintain the "dominant status" of the US dollar and praises Trump for ushering in a "new golden age of the economy".

US President-elect Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, pledged on Wednesday to uphold the US dollar's status as the world's reserve currency and put forward a vision for a "new economic golden age." Mnuchin is set to face questioning on Thursday from the Senate Finance Committee. In his prepared testimony, he stated that the new Trump administration must prioritize productive investments for economic growth rather than "wasteful spending that leads to inflation." "We must ensure that supply chains are not impacted by strategic competitors, and we must judiciously deploy sanctions as part of the entire government's effort to address national security requirements," Mnuchin said in his speech. "Crucially, we must ensure that the dollar remains the world's reserve currency." Mnuchin has been a supporter of Trump's plan to significantly increase import tariffs, but he did not specifically mention China in his speech. Previously, Trump threatened to impose a 60% tariff on goods imported from China and a 10% tariff on global imports. Trump also stated that he would impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until these countries stop illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl into the US. $4 trillion tax increase Mnuchin also stated that the government and Congress need to "permanently extend" the expiring provisions of Trump's 2017 tax cut and jobs act. "If Congress does not act, Americans will face the largest tax increase in history, amounting to $4 trillion," Mnuchin said. He also mentioned that the Trump administration and Congress need to implement growth-promoting policies to reduce the tax burden on US manufacturing, service workers, and seniors. One of these policies refers to Trump's campaign promise to reduce the corporate tax rate for companies manufacturing products in the US from 21% to 15% and exempt tips and social security income from taxation. Mnuchin stated that with Congress's support, the Trump administration can usher in a new, more balanced era of prosperity for Americans, which he referred to as "unleashing a generational opportunity for the new economic golden age."