United States President Donald Trump said in a video address to business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday that he intends to lower global oil prices, interest rates and taxes, warning them that they will face tariffs if they produce their products abroad.
“Come and make your products in America, and we will give you some of the lowest taxes of any country in the world. We will cut them even lower, even compared to the original Trump tax cuts,” Trump said. “But if you don’t make your products in America, which is your right, then you will simply have to pay tariffs — varying amounts, but tariffs that will put hundreds of billions, even trillions, of dollars into our coffers to strengthen our economy and reduce our debt.” He went on to promise: “Under a Trump administration, there will be no better place in the world to create jobs, build factories, or grow a company than right here in the good old United States of America.”
These were Trump's first statements to global business and political leaders since taking office at a time when markets are unsettled by his plans to impose tariffs on imported goods.
Oil prices fell as Trump spoke, while the euro weakened and the US dollar fluctuated against foreign currencies, Reuters points out.
Some of his harshest criticism was reserved for traditional US allies Canada and the European Union, whom he again threatened with new tariffs, while criticizing their import policies and blaming them for the US trade deficit with those partners.
"One thing we're going to demand is respect from other countries. Canada. We have a huge deficit with Canada. We're not going to have that anywhere else," Trump said.
Trump threatened during the election campaign to impose tariffs on his first day in office, but ultimately decided to postpone the move, at least for now.
Trump's speech at the World Economic Forum included a list of moves he has made since he was sworn in on Monday. But he also gave hints about his economic priorities.
He said he would rely on Saudi Arabia and the OPEC cartel to “bring down the price of oil,” which would likely require an agreement among member countries to increase production, the Guardian reports. “I’m surprised they didn’t do it before the election. They didn’t show much love,” he added. He also said he would ask Riyadh to increase a planned US investment package to $600 trillion from the $600 billion initially announced. Earlier yesterday, the Saudi state news agency reported that the kingdom wanted to invest $XNUMX billion in expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years.
Trump then said that if oil prices fell, “the war in Ukraine would be over immediately,” which contradicts Russia’s publicly stated goals. He also said he hoped to meet with Vladimir Putin soon to end the war in Ukraine. “It’s not from an economic perspective or anything else. It’s from a perspective of millions of lives lost… It’s a massacre. And we really have to stop that war.” Trump also said that U.S. efforts to secure a peace settlement were now, he hoped, underway, but he did not provide any details. Asked if he believed the war in Ukraine would be over by the next Davos Forum in a year, Trump said: “Well, you’ll have to ask Russia that. Ukraine is ready to make a deal.”
Trump said on Wednesday he would likely impose new sanctions, taxes and tariffs on Russia, whose economy he said was in decline, and its allies, unless Putin reached a deal with him "soon" to end the conflict.
The Kremlin yesterday downplayed Trump's threat, saying it "doesn't see anything particularly new in it," while some politicians, nationalists, and influential war bloggers in Russia said his tactics were not conducive to reaching an agreement, calling them "rude," "offensive," and "uninformed."
Trump added yesterday that he hopes China can help stop the war between Russia and Ukraine, as it has a lot of influence on the situation. He said he likes President Xi very much, although their relationship has been strained by the pandemic. Speaking about trade, Trump said that the US trade deficit with China is “simply an unfair relationship”. “We just have to make it fair. We don’t have to make it great”.
Trump showed a sensitive side - when asked about calling Sia last Sunday, he replied: "He called me."
Turning to military matters, Trump said he would ask all NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP. He noted that most countries had not reached the 2% GDP target until he asked them to do so during his first term. “I insisted that they pay, and they paid, because the United States was actually covering the difference at the time,” Trump said.
Earlier yesterday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte admitted that European NATO members are not spending enough on defense and warned that the 2% GDP level will not be enough to ensure security in the coming years.
Trump yesterday again sharply criticized his predecessor Joe Biden and the policies that have dominated Davos for years, from climate change to diversity. Former US Secretary of State John Kerry visibly grimaced as he listened.
Trump also repeated a series of well-known false claims - that the US had the cleanest air and water during his first term and that the US had a new "Green New Deal" in place that he repealed.
More than a thousand executives, officials and others from around the world filled the main hall of the convention for Trump's speech, including Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Bonus video:
