Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has warned against the impact of Trump’s tariffs, stating that CEOs are “holding back on investment” and are “tightening their belt”. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Solomon said ““The policy actions to date have raised the level of uncertainty to a degree I do not think is healthy for investment and growth”. He further added “Let's see what policy actually does go into place and that will help us better understand the forward growth trajectory, but it's clearly been slowed by these actions.”
“And, as I'm talking to CEOs, as I'm talking to our clients, they are holding back on investment and they're certainly tightening their belt,” Solomon stated adding “You're going to see some companies laying off employees and running their businesses tighter because of this level of uncertainty”.
In the interview, Solomon also praised Trump’s efforts to renegotiate the US trade relationship with the European Union and reduce the "regulatory bureaucracy" created by Brussels' "complex" banking rules. He said “I definitely take away a sense of resolve, of excitement, about actually moving forward, breaking down some of the regulatory barriers that have been inhibitions to growth here, and that would be quite constructive”.
Stating that it was “important to get more clarity on the direction” of trade policy for things to ‘settle down’, Solomon said “Capital markets activity was up year-over-year in the first quarter”. “If the level of uncertainty grows from here, yes, you won’t see the same amount of capital markets activity,” the Goldman Sachs boss said.
China is an important trading partner to the US: Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon
Talking about China, Solomon said that China is an “important trading partner”, to the West and to the US”. He said “At the moment, we're in the early stages of what, I think, is an obvious negotiation between the US and China.”
Adding that “the current state of affairs is not sustainable,” he stated that “we need more clarity”. “And so that's why I think there'll be some change. You're starting to hear the administration, talking about the fact that there needs to be change and what's in place is not sustainable. But no one knows exactly how this would play out at the moment, and that's, that's increasing the level of uncertainty,” Solomon noted.
“And, as I'm talking to CEOs, as I'm talking to our clients, they are holding back on investment and they're certainly tightening their belt,” Solomon stated adding “You're going to see some companies laying off employees and running their businesses tighter because of this level of uncertainty”.
In the interview, Solomon also praised Trump’s efforts to renegotiate the US trade relationship with the European Union and reduce the "regulatory bureaucracy" created by Brussels' "complex" banking rules. He said “I definitely take away a sense of resolve, of excitement, about actually moving forward, breaking down some of the regulatory barriers that have been inhibitions to growth here, and that would be quite constructive”.
Stating that it was “important to get more clarity on the direction” of trade policy for things to ‘settle down’, Solomon said “Capital markets activity was up year-over-year in the first quarter”. “If the level of uncertainty grows from here, yes, you won’t see the same amount of capital markets activity,” the Goldman Sachs boss said.
China is an important trading partner to the US: Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon
Talking about China, Solomon said that China is an “important trading partner”, to the West and to the US”. He said “At the moment, we're in the early stages of what, I think, is an obvious negotiation between the US and China.”
Adding that “the current state of affairs is not sustainable,” he stated that “we need more clarity”. “And so that's why I think there'll be some change. You're starting to hear the administration, talking about the fact that there needs to be change and what's in place is not sustainable. But no one knows exactly how this would play out at the moment, and that's, that's increasing the level of uncertainty,” Solomon noted.
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