Trump tells Davos elite to invest in US or face tariffs

US President Donald Trump, speaking at the World Economic Forum, pledged lower taxes to global elites if they bring manufacturing back to the US, threatening tariffs otherwise. He used the opportunity to outline a series of administrative measures he has taken since taking office, and claimed he had a "tremendous mandate" from the American people to make changes.

Trump addressed the annual summit in Davos, Switzerland, via video from the White House on Thursday (Friday AEST). He presented a "carrot and stick" strategy for private investment in the US. Trump stated, "Come to the United States and manufacture your products, and we will give you one of the lowest taxes in the world."

Trump also said, "But if you don’t manufacture your products in the United States, which is your prerogative, then very simply, you will have to pay tariffs—varying amounts—but it is a tariff, and that will lead hundreds of billions and even trillions of dollars into our treasury to strengthen our economy and pay off debt under the Trump administration." He emphasized that these tariffs would bring significant funds to the US economy.

Trump also revealed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plans to invest $600 billion ($955 billion AUD) in the US, but he will ask Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to increase it to $1 trillion ($1.6 trillion AUD). This remark drew some laughter from the audience at Davos. Davos founder Klaus Schwab, in introducing Trump, said his return and his agenda "have been the focus of discussions this week" and invited Trump to attend the summit in person next year.

In his speech, Trump also mentioned the Russia-Ukraine war, stating that ending the war remains a top priority, but he did not provide much clue as to how to achieve this goal. Trump said, "One thing that is very important: I really want to be able to meet with President Putin as soon as possible to end this war. We really have to stop this war. It's a terrible war."

Earlier in his remarks, Trump blamed the OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries for high oil prices. He argued that oil sales are the engine driving Moscow's economy. "If oil prices went down, the war in Ukraine would end immediately," Trump said. He also added that OPEC+ is "somewhat responsible for what is happening." Recently, oil prices have fallen due to lower-than-expected demand from China and increased production from non-OPEC+ countries such as Brazil and Argentina.