Trump tells businesses to manufacture in US or face higher tariffs

US President Donald Trump on Thursday addressed the World Economic Forum where he offered business leaders low taxes if they manufacture their products in the US, while threatening them with tariffs if they don't.

Addressing the forum's Annual Meeting here through video conferencing, Trump also said he is going to ask Saudi Arabia and Opec to bring down oil prices and asserted that if prices come down Russia-Ukraine war will end immediately.

Throughout the world, food prices went through the roof and I've taken immediate actions to control inflation in America, he said.

"United States has the largest amount of oil and gas in the world and I'm going to use it," he said.

 

"I promise to eliminate 10 old regulations for every new regulation... I am going to pass the largest tax cuts in the American history to help our people," he said.

At the same time, if a business doesn't manufacture its products in America, there would be tariffs to pay, he warned.

Many companies globally have already announced billions of dollars worth of investments to set up their facilities in America, he said. "We will restore common sense among Americans," he added.

"I will make America manufacturing superpower and the world capital of artificial intelligence and crypto," he said.

The president, who was sworn-in on January 20, said a golden age of America has begun with his second term and the entire world would soon be more peaceful and prosperous.

Inauguration of his second presidency took place the same day when the five-day WEF Annual Meeting began.

Trump also said his administration has accomplished in four days what other regimes could not get in four years.

"A golden age of America has begun, our country would be soon stronger, united and more wealthier than ever," he said.

The entire planet will be more peaceful and prosperous as a result of this, he said while talking about the measures he has already announced and the further steps he will be taking going ahead in his second term.

My administration is acting with unprecedented pace to fix disasters we inherited from a totally inept group of people, Trump said about the previous Biden administration.

Replying to a question from Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Trump said he hopes that BofA would allow conservatives do business with it as he has received complaints from many conservatives.

He said the US used to have the most productive economy when it was beating China and everyone else but all of that was lost in the last few years.

"I blame it on politicians whose stupidity allowed others to overtake America and I'll not allow that to happen again," he said.

Trump also said he will soon meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and it would mainly to stop bullets that hit human bodies.

This is not about economy or natural resources but about stopping the war, he said.

On US-China relations, Trump said Xi Jinping called him and the two countries are going to have a very good relationship.

"I like President Xi a lot but COVID strained our relationship. Hopefully, things will get better and hopefully China will help get the Ukraine war stopped. I am looking forward to working together," he said.

"We just want a level playing field. We have been having a massive deficit with China. Biden allowed it to get out of hand. We have to make it a fair relationship, right now it is not. The deficit is massive, as it is with other countries, lot of Asian countries actually we have deficit and we can't that continue to be," he said.