(The Post Millennial)—President Donald Trump is set to meet with business leaders at a Business Roundtable meeting in Washington, DC on Tuesday evening. The business advocacy nonprofit has urged for an end to tariffs Trump has imposed or announced, saying that they would create “serious economic impact.”
Trump will speak to around 100 CEOs at the meeting, including leaders from Apple, JP Morgan Chase, and Walmart, Reuters reported. Market value for many of these companies dipped on Monday, with the S&P 500 being 3 percent below when Trump was elected and down 4.5 percent year over year amid concerns about market instability and inflation.
Business Roundtable has called for making Trump tax cuts permanent and for reforms in manufacturing, infrastructure, and energy sectors. However, the group urged “negotiators to redouble efforts to secure a path forward that swiftly removes the recently implemented tariffs.” The group added in a statement, “These tariffs, especially if they are long-lasting, run the risk of creating serious economic impact.”
This comes as the latest CEO Confidence Index conducted by the Chief Executive Group found that 39 percent of CEOs expect business conditions to improve over the next 12 months, which is down from a high of 64 percent seen in November after Trump won the election. 36 percent of CEOs expect worsening business conditions, up from 20 percent in January. The poll was conducted between March 4 and 5 of over 220 US CEOs. The poll also found that 38 percent of CEOs believe tariffs proposed or implemented on Mexico, China, and Canada will have short-term negative effects, while an additional 38 percent said that it would have lasting negative effects.
On Tuesday, Trump announced that tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum coming into the US would be doubled, bringing the total to 50 percent, in response to Ontario placing a surcharge of 25 percent on electricity going to US states. Trump also called for Canada to “immediately drop” their tariffs on American dairy products. On April 2, reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect, charging a tax on imports to the US from a country that is using tariffs against US imports.
