Cheap goods 'not essence of American dream', Trump official says amid tariff price fears

Buying cheap products is "not the essence of the American dream", Donald Trump's top economic official has declared, amid warnings that the US president's trade wars risk increasing prices. The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, defended the new administration's aggressive trade strategy on Thursday, two days after it imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico and hiked duties on China. Top retail CEOs have cautioned the move would swiftly lead to higher prices for US consumers. Trump, too, has acknowledged there would be "a little disturbance" as a result. During an appearance at the Economic Club of New York on…