WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration this past Monday delivered a sweeping one-two punch to global tax policy and domestic economic strategy, formally walling off U.S. companies from a controversial international tax regime while rolling out a new platform to showcase what it calls a “new golden age” for American workers, families, and businesses.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that U.S. multinational corporations will not be subject to the OECD’s so-called Pillar Two global minimum tax, following negotiations with more than 145 countries that preserve what the administration describes as U.S. tax sovereignty.
“President Trump’s Day One Executive Orders made clear that the Biden Administration’s proposed OECD Pillar Two deal would have no force or effect for the United States,” Bessent said in a statement. “The Administration delivered on that promise.”
Under the side-by-side agreement reached by Treasury and Congress with the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework, U.S.-headquartered companies will remain subject only to U.S. global minimum taxes, while other nations retain authority over business activity within their borders. Treasury said the deal also protects the value of the U.S. research and development credit and other tax incentives designed to drive domestic investment and job creation.
The move was framed as a major victory against what officials call “extraterritorial overreach,” shielding American firms from foreign tax claims while preserving incentives meant to keep innovation and manufacturing anchored in the United States.
Treasury said it will continue working with foreign governments to ensure the agreement is fully implemented and to push for broader stability in international taxation, particularly as countries debate how to tax the digital economy.
A day later, Bessent unveiled Treasury’s new public-facing platform, “Working Families Tax Cuts: Ushering in a New Golden Age,” designed to give Americans a window into President Trump’s economic agenda following the passage of the Working Families Tax Cuts signed into law on July 4, 2025.
“Treasury is opening the books for the American people,” Bessent said. “Starting with the historic Working Families Tax Cuts, we want Americans to see exactly how the President’s policies will strengthen small businesses, allow workers to keep more of their hard-earned money and spur economic growth.”
The platform highlights a slate of permanent tax cuts and policy priorities ranging from Trump Accounts and small-business revival to domestic manufacturing, school choice, border security, energy dominance, and protections against fraud and abuse. Treasury says those measures will translate into bigger paychecks and larger tax refunds for families beginning in the 2026 filing year.
The department also took a sharp turn in international climate finance policy last week, notifying the Green Climate Fund that the United States is withdrawing from the fund and vacating its seat on the board, effective immediately.
“Our nation will no longer fund radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction,” Bessent said.
The move follows the Trump administration’s broader decision to withdraw from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, signaling a full retreat from multilateral climate finance structures in favor of what officials call energy-driven economic development.
Treasury’s most aggressive action, however, came Friday in Minnesota, where Bessent announced a crackdown on what he described as sprawling fraud rings siphoning billions of dollars from government benefit programs.
“Under Democratic Governor Tim Walz, welfare fraud has spiraled out of control,” Bessent said. “Billions of dollars intended for feeding hungry children, housing disabled seniors, and providing services for children in need were diverted to benefit Somali fraud rings.”
Treasury said the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has launched investigations into multiple money services businesses in Minnesota, while the IRS is auditing financial institutions and preparing a task force to probe misuse of pandemic-era tax incentives and abuse of nonprofit tax-exempt status.
FinCEN also issued a Geographic Targeting Order covering Hennepin and Ramsey counties, requiring banks and money transmitters to report international transfers of $3,000 or more, a move designed to help law enforcement trace money flowing overseas from alleged fraud schemes. An additional alert was sent to financial institutions warning of red flags tied to abuse of federal child nutrition programs, which Treasury said have already been defrauded of at least $300 million in Minnesota alone.
Taken together, the actions reflect a Treasury Department aggressively reshaping tax, energy, and financial-crime policy under President Trump — insulating U.S. companies from global tax rules, withdrawing from international climate finance, and deploying federal enforcement power to hunt down what the administration calls some of the largest public-benefit fraud schemes in recent history.
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