WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used his speech Thursday at the World Economic Forum to promise the world’s most respected countries that they will pay lower tariffs if they import products to the United States and threatened to impose tariffs if they do not.
Speaking via video from the White House to the annual conference in Davos, Switzerland, on his third full day in office, Trump went on record about his executive actions since taking the oath of office and said he has “great authority” for America. people to bring about change. He laid out the carrot-and-stick approach to private equity investment in the US
“Come and make your product in America and we’ll give you one of the lowest taxes in the world,” Trump said. “But if you don’t make your product in America, which is your right, then quite simply, you will have to pay taxes—different amounts—but taxes, which will direct hundreds of billions of dollars, even billions of dollars. in our treasury department to strengthen our economy and pay down the debt under the Trump administration. “
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Trump, who spoke on Wednesday with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, also said on Thursday that the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the US but will ask Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to increase it to $1 trillion. This speech caused laughter from the crowd in the hall in Davos.
Introducing Trump, Davos founder Klaus Schwab told the new president that his return and his agenda “were central to our discussions this week.” He invited Trump to speak in person at the conference next year.
Trump, who promised to end Russia’s war with Ukraine before taking office, said it remains a priority, but offered few clues as to how he would do it.
“One very important thing: I would really like to be able to meet with President Putin soon and end that war,” Trump told the Davos audience. “We really have to stop that war. That war is bad”
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Earlier in his speech at the forum, Trump blamed the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries for keeping the price of oil so high during most of the nearly three-year war. Oil sales are the economic engine that drives Moscow’s economy.
“If the price goes down, the Russia-Ukraine war will end quickly,” Trump said. He added of OPEC+, “They are responsible to some extent for what is happening.”
Oil prices have recently fallen due to weaker-than-expected demand from China and increased production from non-OPEC+ countries such as Brazil and Argentina.
In the largest auditorium at the Davos Congress Center—which seats 850 people—Trump’s appearance drew almost a standing ovation. The crowd included diplomats, human rights advocates, academics and business leaders. His return to the White House and his many orders have been the talk of the town this week in snowy Switzerland.
At times, Trump drew a few groans, such as when he mocked “unfit” members of the outgoing Biden administration. The biggest laugh came when WEF President Borge Brende said Trump called Chinese President Xi Jinping over the weekend, and the American leader quickly corrected him: “He called me.”
Audience reaction was mixed. Others who attended the event appreciated Trump’s attention.
“I was impressed (by) his beliefs and what he said. I don’t agree with his opinion on many topics, but I thought he was well prepared and knew who he was talking to,” said Swiss lawyer Benedict Fontanet.
Others have bowed to Trump’s “America First” wishes again.
“It is an absolute determination to ‘make America great again’ at the expense of the rest of the world,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general. “It’s in favor of American workers by paying workers everywhere … There’s nothing, there’s nothing around the world.”
—Keaten reported from Davos, Switzerland. Associated Press writers David Keyton in Davos and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.