President Trump told America’s business titans that his tariff plan would be a “big win” for the U.S., trying to calm their fears that an economic downturn was on the horizon.
During an appearance at the Business Roundtable, which is comprised of CEOs from some of the nation’s most well-known companies, Mr. Trump touted several recent investments in the U.S., including billions of dollars from IBM and Apple. He said those companies’ decisions to build in America can be linked to his tariff policy.
“There’s a new renewed spirit and also, very importantly, the tariffs,” Mr. Trump said. “They don’t want to pay 25% or whatever it might be. It may go up higher, but the higher it goes, the more likely they’re going to build and ultimately, the biggest win is not the tariff.”
“The biggest win is if they move into our country and produce jobs. That’s a bigger win than the tariffs themselves, but the tariffs are going to be throwing a lot of money to this country.”
The Business Roundtable includes CEOs from Apple, JPMorgan Chase and Walmart.
Chief Executive Magazine released a poll last week that found CEOs view American business conditions at their lowest level since Spring 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit. The CEOs blamed tariff uncertainty for the gloomy outlook.
The meeting comes as the financial markets continue a sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 700 points as of Tuesday afternoon, before rallying to finish down 478 points after the U.S. and Canada agreed to deescalate trade tensions.
Much of Wall Street’s jitters have arisen from Mr. Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Mr. Trump has dismissed pressure for clarity from the business community, who fear that his tariff proposal could spark an out-of-control trade war.
On Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump threatened to double his tariff on Canadian aluminum and steel imports, after a Canadian official said he would put a 25% surcharge on the electricity it sells to communities in the U.S. That official, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, backed down later Tuesday, prompting the White House to keep the metal tariff at 25% instead of hiking it.
Meanwhile, China’s retaliatory tariffs on many U.S. agricultural products went into effect Monday and leaders across the globe are bracing for the impact of Mr. Trump’s reciprocal tariffs that Mr. Trump vowed to impose on April 2.
When asked in a Fox News interview Sunday about the possibility of a recession this year, Mr. Trump said, “I hate to predict things like that.”
