skip to contentAdvertisement“We can’t snap our fingers and say, ‘we’re gonna learn how to build ships overnight’, Secretary Scott Bessent said.By: Express Web Desk November 13, 2025 09:54 AM IST First published on: Nov 13, 2025 at 09:54 AM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookResponding to criticism, Bessent said such jobs can’t be filled locally as the US has long lacked the required expertise. (AP Photo)United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has supported President Donald Trump’s view that the country needs to bring in skilled foreign workers through the H-1B visa programme to fill high-tech jobs that Americans currently cannot.Speaking on Fox & Friends, Bessent said that for decades, the US workforce has been focused on “precision and fact-trained jobs,” but industries like shipbuilding and semiconductor manufacturing require expertise that will take years to develop domestically.“We can’t snap our fingers and say, ‘we’re gonna learn how to build ships overnight’. We want to bring the semiconductor industry back to the US. There are gonna be big facilities in Arizona,” he said, adding that the president’s vision is to “bring in overseas workers where these jobs require.”@SecScottBessent weighs in on the H-1B visa debate:"The president's vision here is to bring in overseas workers, from where these jobs went, who have the skills… to train the U.S. workers." pic.twitter.com/HGafrKM8jn— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) November 12, 2025https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js‘A home run’Bessent outlined a long-term plan to use foreign talent. “The vision is to bring in these workers who have the skills – three, five, seven years to train the US workers. Then they can go home, and the US workers fully take over,” he said.Responding to criticism that such policies take jobs away from Americans, Bessent argued that many of these positions cannot be filled locally because the expertise has long been absent in the US.“An American can’t have that job. Because we haven’t built ships in the US for years, we haven’t built semiconductors. So, this idea of overseas partners coming in, teaching American workers, then returning home, that’s a home run!” he said.Trump’s stanceBessent’s comments follow Trump’s remarks defending the H-1B visa programme. Trump said on Tuesday that America doesn’t have talented workers to fill the jobs needed domestically, and must import talent for some sectors.Most ReadWhen suggested that the US already has plenty of talented people, Trump disagreed. “No, you don’t, no you don’t … you don’t have certain talents, and people have to learn. You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory where we’re going to make missiles’,” he said.Trump’s remarks signal a softer approach toward skilled immigration even as his administration continues a crackdown on foreign workers. In September, the administration introduced a new $100,000 fee for certain H-1B petitions filed after September 21, though the US State Department later clarified that the rule applies only to new visa applications submitted after that date.AdvertisementAdvertisementLoading Taboola...