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CEOs and business execs hoping to dissuade Donald Trump from enacting what they and many economists believe will be ruinous tariffs are finding he won't budge and that has them scrambling to find a way to get through to him.
According to a report from the business-friendly Wall Street Journal, the president-elect's proposal to hit U.S. allies with huge tariffs in the belief it will help American consumers are even catching some members of his inner circle by surprise.
As the Journal's Brian Schwartz wrote, “Trump isn’t budging” before adding, “So far, executives are facing setbacks as they canvass Trump’s aides for advice on how to influence the president-elect’s next steps. Trump is largely acting on his own, leaving his incoming team of advisers with few opportunities to shape his thinking.”
The report adds that Trump's proposals often come late at night on his social media platforms leaving his advisors, who have been left in the dark, trying to catch up afterwards. “Trump discusses his tariff ideas with his advisers, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), his Secretary of State pick, and the investor Scott Bessent, selected last month to lead the Treasury Department. But his team received little warning Trump would go public with his plans on social media, people familiar with the discussions said,” the Journal is reporting before adding, “One of the people said Rubio was given a heads up by Trump before he published his social-media post about BRICS countries, but received little notice when it came to Trump’s public tariff threats against Mexico, Canada and China.”
