Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning to global elites in a video appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday: Make your products in the United States or pay tariffs. Beamed on giant screens in the Swiss Alpine village, Trump received a loud round of applause from political and business A-listers who had eagerly awaited his appearance all week. Speaking from the White House, the recently-inaugurated president touted his plans to cut taxes, deregulate industries, and crack down on illegal immigration.
But he also had a tough message. “Come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth,” Trump said. “But if you don’t make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply you will have to pay a tariff.” In his wide-ranging speech, Trump made a link between the war in Ukraine and oil prices. Trump said he would ask Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to bring down crude prices. “If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,” he said. He also had a message for central banks, saying he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately” — in a signal that he might pressure the independent US Federal Reserve on the matter.
The US leader then fielded questions from four top banking and energy executives. “Well, Mr. president, I’m sure the crown prince of Saudi Arabia will be really glad you gave this speech today,” quipped Stephen Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone investment firm, who had the first question. Trump answered the group one by one with a mix of praise, promises, and reprimand. “If we make a deal, we make a deal. You’ll get it,” Trump said after the head of French energy giant TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, asked if he would agree to guarantee supplies of liquefied natural gas to Europe. He showered the head of Spanish banking group Banco Santander, Ana Botin, with praise. “I know very much about your bank, and you’ve done a fantastic job. Congratulations,” he said.
Trump had harsher words for Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan, accusing the firm and others of refusing to do business with conservatives. “You’ve done a fantastic job,” Trump said, before adding: “I hope you’re going to open your banks to conservatives because what you’re doing is wrong.”
– Milei praise – Trump is always a top draw in Davos, making waves at two previous in-person appearances during his first term in 2018 and 2020. But showing up this year was tougher as the forum happened to start on the day of his inauguration in Washington on Monday. Scores stood in line to hear him speak. Some in the audience included IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, Polish President Andrzej Duda, and World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. One of Trump’s biggest cheerleaders on the world stage, Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei, took the stage hours before Trump, delivering a fiery speech against “the mental virus of woke ideology”. Milei said Argentina was “re-embracing the idea of freedom” and “that is what I trust President Trump will do in this new America”. He also defended his “dear friend” Elon Musk. The US billionaire and Trump ally caused a stir this week by making hand gestures at an inauguration event for the US president that drew comparisons to the Nazi salute. Milei said Musk, the head of Tesla and SpaceX, has been “unfairly vilified by wokeism in recent hours for an innocent gesture that only means…his gratitude to the people”.
– ‘Let’s not hyperventilate’ – Trump had already given Davos a taste of what is to come since his inauguration on Monday, which coincided with the WEF’s first day. He has threatened tariffs on China, the European Union, Mexico, and Canada, pulled the United States from the Paris climate pact, and renewed his claim to the Panama Canal, just to name a few. Okonjo-Iweala, the WTO chief, called on cooler heads to prevail during a WEF panel discussion on tariffs on Thursday, warning that tit-for-tat levies would be “catastrophic” for the world economy. “Please let’s not hyperventilate,” she quipped. “I know we are here to discuss tariffs. I’ve been saying to everybody: could we chill, also?” Trump’s appearance did not seem to calm everyone. “God help us,” one person said after his speech.
© 2024 AFP
