On January 23rd, local time, U.S. President Trump said in a video speech at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) that if products are not produced in the United States, they will face "hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars" in tariffs. Demand the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates immediately and call on the world to follow suit! He also criticized the EU tariffs for being too high and called on OPEC to lower oil prices.
Produced in the United States, or pay taxes.
Trump said he called on companies to produce products in the United States, otherwise they would have to pay varying amounts of tariffs, which would result in hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars entering the U.S. treasury. He also promised to reduce corporate taxes on products produced in the United States to 15%.
Criticizes EU tariffs for being too high
Trump also criticized the EU for too high tariffs, too restrictive regulations, and too large a trade deficit with the United States. He said something would be done about it because it was "very, very unfair to the United States."
Trump said he would ensure the security of U.S. energy supplies to Europe. He said he would reach an energy deal with Europe and stressed the importance of U.S. shipments of liquefied natural gas to the EU.
Ask OPEC members to lower oil costs
Trump also expressed plans to intervene in the world oil market on a large scale and called on Saudi Arabia and other Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to "lower the cost of oil".
Asking Saudi Arabia to invest $1 trillion in the U.S.
There are reports that Saudi Arabia will invest at least $600 billion in the United States, but Trump said he would ask the Saudi Crown Prince to "round it up to about $1 trillion."
Hope to meet Putin as soon as possible
Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump said that the United States will work hard to ensure the conflict resolved peacefully. In addition, Trump hopes to meet with Putin as soon as possible.
It is worth noting that Trump also said: "As oil prices fall, I will demand an immediate interest rate cut, and similarly, interest rates should be cut around the world."
Five days later, the Federal Reserve will hold its first policy meeting since Trump took office on January 28-29. The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at this meeting.
Trump has widely criticized the Fed for raising interest rates in the first two years of his first term and blasted Powell, whom he promoted as Fed chairman, for leading the series of actions.
Since then, Trump publicly questioned Powell's interest rate decisions when speaking in his office at the White House, saying that he intended to talk to Powell "at the appropriate time" and claiming to know more about interest rates than Powell.
Trump said: "I think I know a lot more than they (the Federal Reserve) do about interest rates, and I think I certainly know a lot more than the people who are primarily responsible for making decisions (the Federal Reserve). If I have a different opinion , I will let everyone know.”
When asked if he believed Fed officials would listen to him, Trump said "yes."
World Trade Organization (WHO) Director-General Iweala said on Thursday that any tit-for-tat trade war triggered by US President Trump's tariff threats would have "catastrophic" consequences for the global economy.
At the WEF that day, Iweala pointed out: "If we retaliate tit-for-tat, whether it is a 25% tariff or a 60% tariff, it will bring us back to the situation in the 1930s, and we will see global GDP losses are in the double digits and this is a catastrophic situation that will cost everyone."
Iweala compared a possible trade war to the interwar period, when countries imposed trade restrictions in response to the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, leading to a severe contraction in the global economy.
