Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon revealed that the business community understands President Donald Trump’s intentions behind his tariffs, despite wanting lower tariffs everywhere. The current tariffs on aluminum and steel imports have sparked uncertainty in the markets, with some major banks revising their economic forecasts.
Solomon stated that the business community knows what Trump is trying to do with tariffs, but wants them to be “lower everywhere”. He also acknowledged that there is currently some uncertainty, which may keep some potential transactions on the sidelines. However, he expects a pickup in activity across both capital markets and mergers and acquisitions as the year progresses.
Trump’s plans to revive US shipbuilding have sent a critical signal to China amid flaring trade tensions. The president hinted that existing tariffs could rise in the future, leading to a stock sell-off this week. The European Union has retaliated with tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. exports, set to take effect April 1st.
Solomon also spoke about the current state of mergers and acquisitions activity, saying it is “slightly better” than over the last 24 months. He noted that there is still a significant amount of pent-up demand for capital markets activity and M&A deals, but the level of uncertainty has kept some transactions on hold.
As the year progresses, Solomon expects a pickup in activity across both capital markets and M&A, driven by strategic thinking about where businesses want to drive their growth.
Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/goldman-sachs-ceo-reveals-business-communitys-true-thoughts-trump-tariffs