We post this for the purpose of somewhat-distilled counterperspectives only. Developments are not only unclear, ongoing, but – as so often repeated – politically driven; therefore carrying an additional layer of extreme unpredictability.
Buffett on Tariffs and Cash: Key Insights for Australian Investors
Warren Buffett has never been one to mince words, and his latest remarks—delivered during a CBS interview aired in early March—made clear he hasn’t softened with age. Speaking bluntly about former US President Donald Trump’s revived tariff proposals, Buffett characterised the plan as dangerously misguided and likely to backfire. The legendary investor described tariffs as “an act of war, to some degree,” warning of their inflationary consequences and burden on everyday consumers. “Over time, they are a tax on goods,” he said. “I mean, the tooth fairy doesn’t pay ’em.”
That sentiment will likely resonate with Australian investors, policymakers, and exporters alike. Australia’s economy relies heavily on international trade, and any shift towards global protectionism carries consequences well beyond US borders. As tensions between major economies simmer once again, Buffett’s comments serve as a timely reminder that tariffs, while politically attractive to some, come with very real economic costs.
But tariffs weren’t the only topic Buffett addressed in the CBS interview. He also revealed that Berkshire Hathaway has been leaning heavily into short-term US Treasury bills, a move many read as a sign of caution in the current market environment. It’s an interesting shift, particularly when viewed against Buffett’s longstanding aversion to cash as a long-term holding.
Indeed, in his latest letter to shareholders—released on 22 February 2025—Buffett reiterated his preference for equities over cash, even while sitting on a mountain of it. At the end of 2024, Berkshire Hathaway held approximately US$334 billion (around A$500 billion) in cash and equivalents, making up roughly 30% of the firm’s total assets. That is the highest level in over three decades, according to data from Oppenheimer.
Why so much cash? Part of the answer lies in the firm’s 2024 portfolio activity. Berkshire sold a net US$134 billion in stocks last year and scaled back its share buybacks, freeing up significant capital. While some interpreted the move as a defensive retreat, Buffett was quick to dispel that notion in his shareholder letter. “Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of your money remains in equities,” he wrote. “That preference won’t change.”
He doubled down on the principle: “Berkshire will never favour ownership of cash-equivalent assets over the ownership of good businesses, whether controlled or only partially owned.” The implication? Buffett isn’t abandoning equities—he simply hasn’t found the right opportunities to deploy capital at the scale Berkshire requires. The firm’s recent reductions in Apple and Bank of America holdings, two of its most prominent positions, speak to a broader sense of caution amid what he likely views as elevated valuations.
There was also a brief but intriguing moment during the CBS interview when Buffett was asked about Elon Musk’s potential involvement in a future Trump administration. Ever the diplomat, Buffett sidestepped the question, saying, “I better not get into that,” though he added, “I’ve talked to Elon a few times.” It was a throwaway line, but one that nonetheless drew attention, given the influence both men wield across business and markets.
For Australian investors, several insights emerge from these remarks. First, Buffett’s critique of protectionist policies underscores the risk such measures pose to open economies like Australia’s. Any further escalation in tariffs—especially involving China, a key Australian trading partner—could disrupt global supply chains, raise costs, and weigh on growth.
Second, Berkshire’s massive cash holdings, held in short-term Treasuries, signal that one of the world’s most successful investors currently sees limited value in the equity market—at least when it comes to large, meaningful purchases. That may be a cautionary signal for investors tempted to chase stocks amid rising valuations.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Buffett’s strategy underscores a timeless lesson in investment discipline. Holding large amounts of cash isn’t an abandonment of conviction, but rather a strategic reserve—capital patiently waiting for the right opportunity. It’s a reminder that, in investing, sometimes doing nothing is the hardest and most prudent choice.
Putting Theory into Practice
Buffett’s recent interview and shareholder letter don’t just offer opinions—they model a clear investment philosophy rooted in patience, scepticism toward political headlines, and a willingness to hold back when valuations don’t stack up. Australian investors would do well to remember that strategy. Markets may be cyclical, but discipline, it seems, is evergreen.
Table: Summary of Key Statements
| Source | Date | Topic | Key Statement |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBS Interview | March 2025 | Tariffs | Described as “an act of war”; “a tax on goods,” leading to higher prices. |
| CBS Interview | March 2025 | Elon Musk Involvement | Deflected, said, “I’ve talked to Elon a few times.” |
| CBS Interview | March 2025 | Cash Allocation | Mentioned building up investments in Treasury bills. |
| Shareholder Letter 2025 | 22 Feb 2025 | Cash Allocation | “Majority remains in equities,” preference won’t change, awaiting opportunities. |
Howard Lutnick on Trump Tariffs, Trade Relations, China
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- The primary objective of the new tariff policy is to compel companies to manufacture in America, boosting US GDP and employment (“build the American economy up”).
- The administration views past trade practices as an “exploitation of America,” positioning the US as the “world’s piggy bank,” which President Trump is determined to end.
- The focus is on rebalancing the $1.2 trillion trade deficit and addressing decades of US economic/worker pain (e.g., job/factory losses post-NAFTA).
- Baseline tariffs (10% for some like UK/AU, higher for others) and increased tariffs (e.g., 20% EU, 24% Japan, 34% China based on trade analysis) are set to begin April 5th and 9th respectively.
- Tariff levels were determined by CEA and USTR analysis of trade imbalances and barriers, not a simple formula.
- Even countries with trade surpluses (e.g., UK, Australia) face the baseline tariff, arguing surpluses are misleading (e.g., driven by specific commodities/financial flows) and reinforcing that all nations need the US market.
- Canada and Mexico are currently exempt under USMCA provisions, pending resolution of fentanyl/border issues, after which they’d fall into a similar tariff model. Russia, North Korea, Belarus, and Cuba are excluded due to existing sanctions.
- Emphasis is placed heavily on NTBs being the “monster that needs to be slayed,” often more significant than explicit tariffs.
- Examples cited include:
- VAT systems used to subsidize domestic production (e.g., European cars, steel).
- Regulatory barriers preventing US exports (e.g., beef, agricultural products, specific examples like proving potato origin for Korea).
- Subsidized energy costs for foreign producers.
- China: Faces compounded tariffs: 34% (trade imbalance) + 20% (Fentanyl precursor penalty) + potentially existing Section 301 tariffs (~25% on some goods), potentially reaching ~79% cumulative on certain items. The 20% Fentanyl penalty could be removed with a commitment from President Xi to stop precursor production.
- Europe: Criticized for higher tariffs (e.g., autos), significant NTBs (agriculture, VAT subsidies), and treating US products/companies unfairly despite being allies.
- The tariffs are presented as the start of a global “rebalancing,” not necessarily a traditional negotiation opening. The onus is on trading partners to address unfair practices (“deep soul searching”).
- Retaliation by trading partners is discouraged as illogical (“why retaliate against your biggest client?”). Tariffs could increase if retaliation occurs.
- Current market volatility (S&P down, USD weak) is acknowledged but downplayed relative to the long-term goal of strengthening the US domestic economy. The administration anticipates a US growth “resurgence.”
- Talks with trading partners are ongoing (“teams are talking”).
0:00 Mr secretary thank you for making time 0:01 for us on a busy morning for you and the 0:02 team appreciate it as always let’s talk 0:04 about those deadlines those dates 0:06 Baseline tariffs start on April 5th 0:08 higher tariff start on April 9th what 0:10 happens between now and 0:13 then well it really we are talking uh to 0:17 all the trade ministers but nothing 0:19 really happens between now and then what 0:21 what CEOs are thinking about is finally 0:25 let’s think about building in America 0:27 you’ve got almost $5 trillion of 0:30 commitments Coming to America to build 0:32 their factories that number is only 0:34 going to grow as people realize it’s 0:37 time to bring manufacturing home to 0:39 America where the greatest economy and 0:41 the greatest Market in the world is it’s 0:44 time for America to stop taking care of 0:46 every other economy in the world and 0:48 building them up let’s build the 0:50 American economy up let’s build American 0:53 GDP and you’re going to see great growth 0:56 from America Mr secretary as you know 0:58 capital is around the world watching 1:00 this program right now want to 1:01 understand what they can do between now 1:03 and then to avoid those tariffs what do 1:05 they need to do Have you communicated 1:07 any metrics to them 1:11 whatsoever well we’ve been talking to 1:13 the trade Ministers of the major uh 1:15 trading partners for more than a month 1:18 and we’ve been talking to them and so 1:20 you have to understand and and this is 1:22 what’s difficult for your audience to 1:24 understand the tariffs are easy to 1:26 understand right we have a 2 and a half% 1:28 tariff on autos and you Europe has a 10% 1:31 tariff and other people have a 20% or 1:34 15% tariff and that’s sort of easy so 1:37 they can all come down but it’s the 1:39 non-tariff trade barriers that are the 1:42 difference some countries have a vat and 1:45 they take that vat tax of 20% and they 1:48 use it to subsidize the production of 1:51 their domestic Industries that’s why we 1:54 can’t sell cars there because they give 1:56 a rebate either they give it directly 1:58 one country told me yesterday that they 2:01 give it directly to their car 2:02 manufacturer to make their cars cheaper 2:05 that’s why they sell successfully and we 2:08 don’t others take the money and use it 2:10 and give cheap energy costs to this 2:13 production and that’s why the steel 2:15 industry why is everybody else so good 2:17 at steel and we’re not it’s because 2:19 their governments subsidize it so we 2:22 really need to change the way trade 2:24 Works around the world it’s tariffs but 2:27 don’t get confused that these non tariff 2:30 trade barriers they are the monster that 2:33 needs to be slayed you’ve been 2:34 consistent about this argument 2:36 subsidized production manipulated 2:37 currencies foreign trade barriers 2:39 something the president addressed just 2:40 last night can we just sit on the 2:41 numbers just for a moment the EU 20% 24% 2:45 on Japan 34% on China just what exactly 2:48 was the methodology to go through all 2:50 those different barriers to entry that 2:52 you want to knock down how did you come 2:54 up with these 2:56 numbers well the Council of economic 2:58 advisors you know the 3:00 the PHD economists of uh of the 3:03 administration coupled with us the 3:06 United States trade representative they 3:08 publish a book called trade barriers 3:10 about this thing right and they’ve been 3:12 analyzing for decades all of these 3:14 different tools that these other 3:17 economies use to hurt America right they 3:21 won’t take our corn in India they won’t 3:23 take our beef almost anywhere it’s 3:26 unbelievable they won’t take our 3:28 agricultural products they they they 3:31 just treat us badly because we’ve 3:33 allowed them to treat us badly and when 3:36 you finally go back at them and say this 3:38 has got to end it’s going to be tough 3:40 for them because they’ve built their 3:42 whole social network their whole 3:44 economies on basically exploiting 3:47 America and Donald Trump has said it’s 3:50 time for America to change that it’s 3:52 going to be difficult for them to change 3:54 that but eventually America is going to 3:56 be treated fairly and the production of 3:59 American factories is going to be 4:03 incredibly strong growth and you’re 4:05 going to see that growth reverberate 4:07 through GDP remember people forget the D 4:11 gross domestic production if you buy a 4:14 foreign made Toyota that is not domestic 4:17 production making a car in America 4:20 that’s domestic production Mr secretary 4:21 if we could just sit on the methodology 4:23 just for a bit longer and address it 4:24 directly this is what we understand what 4:26 most people understand you did that 4:28 essentially you divided the countries TR 4:29 paid Surplus with the United States by 4:31 the total exports and then divided the 4:33 number by two and produced this 4:35 discounted rate if you’re a trade 4:37 partner right now and you’ve just 4:39 watched how America has put together 4:41 that policy how are you meant to 4:43 negotiate with that what are those 4:45 countries meant to say what are they 4:46 meant to 4:48 do the countries understand that their 4:52 trade policies were 4:54 exploit an exploitation of America 4:57 everybody understands one country 5:00 actually said to me I I was amazed that 5:03 we were able to get away with it for 5:04 this long I mean imagine that so can you 5:07 share that country with this because 5:08 they don’t say this they never say this 5:10 on the record you’ve got the potential 5:12 the option the ability right now to 5:14 share that direct say on the record 5:16 who’s saying that to you no come on oh 5:19 stop I mean the country one country told 5:22 us they were that they give the subsidy 5:24 to the car companies another country 5:26 admitted that they give their subsidy to 5:27 their steel companies I mean it they’re 5:30 not going to repeat it on here what’s on 5:32 here is that this is going to change 5:35 that it’s time for these things to 5:37 change and they’re going to be more fair 5:40 and America is going to do well and in 5:42 the middle of that time all the 5:45 factories are going to come back to 5:46 America you’re going to see an enormous 5:48 number of factories come back to America 5:51 or you’re going to see incredible change 5:53 globally it’s going to take time but the 5:56 factories are going to be built in 5:57 America that’s the most important thing 6:00 Donald Trump wants to see steel and 6:02 aluminum made in America so we can 6:03 defend ourselves he’s going to want to 6:05 see Pharmaceuticals made in America who 6:08 on your audience doesn’t want us to make 6:11 the ingredients for pharmaceuticals did 6:14 anybody ever ask themselves why the 6:16 ingredients for drugs should be made in 6:19 China why why is that that’s not cheap 6:21 labor that’s Factor that’s high-tech 6:24 factories in China why because their 6:27 government helped create create it they 6:30 created cheap Goods there they 6:33 oversupply them they drive the 6:35 capitalist American who don’t think like 6:37 this out of business and then they make 6:39 it in China and Donald Trump has said 6:41 I’ve had enough of this I 6:43 thinket totally agree with you they 6:45 would totally agree with you because 6:47 China is an adversary it is not a 6:50 partner for the United States Europe 6:52 would make a very different argument and 6:54 Europe might be wondering this morning 6:56 why they’re being thrown into the same 6:57 bucket as the Chinese what explanation 7:00 can you give 7:02 them Europe does not treat our products 7:06 fairly they do not treat our companies 7:09 fairly they treat themselves incredibly 7:13 well to the detriment of the United 7:15 States of America right it is time for 7:17 them to treat us fairly and that is the 7:21 point this is not it’s not free and fair 7:23 trade their tariffs are higher the 7:25 non-tariff trade barriers are incredible 7:29 like I’d asked you why don’t they take 7:31 our beef why don’t they take our 7:34 agricultural products why because they 7:36 don’t want them because they want to 7:39 make the money themselves why is it okay 7:42 for every other country to feel this way 7:45 and it’s not okay for America I tell you 7:47 why because we were the world’s piggy 7:49 bank and Donald Trump has said our 36 7:53 trillion doll deficit our $1.2 trillion 7:57 trade deficit 1.2 trillion dollars we 8:00 buy other people’s things more than we 8:03 sell them ours has got to be rebalanced 8:07 it’s a national emergency let’s fix 8:10 America and we 8:12 can Mr secretary for you it’s beef for 8:15 the president I know it’s Ford and 8:16 Berlin’s but there are products that 8:18 Europe takes things like LNG things like 8:21 Microsoft services do you want to see 8:23 balanced trade product by 8:27 product no no know it’s not it’s not 8:30 product by product it’s it’s a big macro 8:33 issue okay fairness comes when one 8:37 decides that they’re they can stop they 8:39 can’t get away with it any longer so 8:41 let’s make a great deal with the United 8:43 States of America okay they got they’ve 8:45 got core issues they have a vat tax of 8:48 20% or 20 Europe has 21% I mean so when 8:52 our goods are sold there we PID 21% they 8:55 say everybody pays that and then they 8:57 use that money to beat us down in other 9:01 ways I mean come on we need to have fair 9:05 trade macro not product by product but I 9:08 think that the way Donald Trump looks at 9:10 it is country by country and what’s 9:13 going to happen is you’re going to see 9:15 domestic production grow you’re going to 9:18 see interest rates come down in America 9:21 you’re going to see growth in America 9:23 great jobs in America uh robotics is 9:26 going to come to America it’s going to 9:27 replace cheap labor overseas robots can 9:30 make things and you know what the job 9:31 there’s going to be mechanics who fix 9:34 robots kind of like a high-end BMW 9:37 robots are going to need to be fixed and 9:40 those jobs are going to be high-paying 9:41 jobs and they’re going to be here we’re 9:44 tired of them being 9:46 overseas for some countries there’s the 9:48 10% base and that’s the only Levy that 9:50 they were hit with yesterday I’m think 9:52 of the United Kingdom I’m think of 9:53 Australia but those countries have a 9:55 trade surplus with the United States so 9:57 why put the Tariff on 10:01 well I think the president understands 10:03 that all of these countries even if they 10:04 have a trade surplus if you dig into it 10:06 like for instance the UK their Trade 10:09 Surplus counts that they have this 10:11 London Metals exchange and so gold and 10:14 silver bullion going in counts I mean 10:16 come on that that doesn’t really count 10:18 so and Australia which is a wonderful 10:22 partner of ours they buy a lot of our 10:23 planes right and if you buy our 10:25 commodity gas I mean that’s really what 10:27 you need not really what we need to sell 10:30 you it’s not the same so the the 10:32 president decided why don’t we have a 10:34 baseline of 10% okay to really 10:38 understand that everybody needs our 10:40 economy our economy is the magnet of the 10:43 world everybody needs our economy let’s 10:46 them pay coming in and let’s change that 10:49 deficit of $1.2 trillion and let’s make 10:52 America’s economy grow and let’s balance 10:56 that out let’s fix that first and then 10:59 will go readdress the rest of the world 11:01 but we need to fix our trade deficit 11:03 $1.2 11:04 trillion it’s unbelievable why we don’t 11:08 have those jobs and the rest of the 11:10 world 11:10 does treasury secretary Scott Besson 11:13 told me last night this is a ceiling 11:15 potentially we can see a different floor 11:17 are you prepared to negotiate all of 11:20 these rates is that is this truly the 11:22 start of a 11:25 negotiation well it’s a start of a 11:28 rebalancing of the way the world works I 11:30 I agree with the secretary that our view 11:34 is that the only way these rates are 11:36 going up is if countries decide to 11:39 retaliate but why would you retaliate 11:41 against your biggest client your biggest 11:43 client says I want to reorder things I 11:45 mean the United States of America is the 11:47 largest client in the world and yes of 11:49 course the countries are going to talk 11:51 to us but they talk too casually they 11:53 always talk about their tariff rates I 11:56 mean it’s like it’s like they say oh I’m 11:57 going to cut my tariff rate you think 11:59 the reason we don’t sell a car is 12:01 because Europe charges a 10% tariff and 12:04 we were only charging two and a half 12:05 that was outrageous but the key is they 12:08 have all these rules rules and rules and 12:12 rules like one of my favorites is the 12:14 Koreans when we made a deal with them in 12:16 2012 we took their cars right Kia and 12:19 Hundai and we were going to sell 12:20 agricultural products to them right and 12:23 when McDonald’s went to send in french 12:25 fries they wouldn’t let them go in 12:27 because we couldn’t prove the origin of 12:30 the potato I mean you don’t understand 12:33 the scale and depth of how they keep our 12:36 products out and Donald Trump has said 12:38 I’ve had enough we are going to be 12:40 treated better America is going to be 12:42 treated better and that starts today Mr 12:46 secretary why exactly wasn’t Russia on 12:47 that list 12:49 yesterday because we have sanctions 12:52 against Russia North Korea bellarus and 12:56 Cuba and so we’re not supposed to be 12:59 trading with them thanks for clearing 13:00 that up the additional question that 13:02 other people had too about Mexico and 13:04 Canada they were also noticeably absent 13:06 why were they 13:08 absent well they they are operating 13:11 under a a rule that was set on for fenel 13:15 right that they needed to close the 13:16 border and stop fenel and what that rule 13:19 is that usmca right the major trading is 13:23 exempt right and the other products that 13:26 they do have a 25% tariff when that is 13:30 resolved so we’re not going to double 13:31 count it that’s just not the way it 13:33 works when that’s resolved they will 13:36 fall into a model like this but I think 13:39 usmca in in the order usmca continues to 13:42 be Exempted so car parts for instance 13:45 are don’t come with a tariff if they end 13:48 up being finished an American car so if 13:51 you building your car in America and 13:53 you’re getting parts from Canada and 13:55 Mexico that’s fine the American cars 13:58 still come 13:59 with no tarff okay that’s helpful the 14:01 additional question we had on just a few 14:02 numbers because we’re all trying to make 14:03 sense of this in real time and you’ve 14:05 got the numbers what’s the Tariff on 14:07 China now the complete tariff including 14:09 everything what is that number 14:12 now well there was a 20% tariff because 14:15 they continue to make the ingredients 14:17 for fenel and send them out right and 14:21 those ingredients have the highest 14:24 subsidy rate in China meaning the 14:26 Chinese government is paying these 14:29 factories to make these Goods the the 14:32 ingredients for fentanyl which is 14:34 killing Americans right so Donald Trump 14:38 put a 20% tariff on that and now the 14:41 regular trade deficit number right the 14:44 analysis by the Council of economic 14:46 advisors and the United States trade 14:48 representative we have a 34% tarff so 14:51 it’s 54% but when they stop making the 14:54 ingredients for Fentanyl and I want to 14:56 point out in 2019 president she told 15:00 president Trump that he would put the 15:02 death penalty on anyone who made fentel 15:05 and now he’s actually subsidizing them 15:09 and and that’s just that’s just so so so 15:13 wrong that Donald Trump is just he’s not 15:16 going to stand for it and he’s got to 15:18 hit them with the only thing he can 15:19 secary lck which is economic China as 15:21 well on China as well what about the 301 15:24 tariffs that were put in place under 15:26 Trump 1.0 and then carried on to the 15:28 Biden Administration that’s about 25% 15:30 are those still in place do they get 15:32 added to this cumulative 15:35 number they do indeed but those are on 15:37 specific product segments and those 15:40 still are as well Autos are not we’re 15:43 talking about 79 we’re talking 79% for 15:46 some for some imports cumulative we’re 15:48 talking about a 79% tariff from China is 15:51 that 15:53 accurate on certain products that could 15:56 be true sure but they’ve got to stop the 15:59 all they have to have is a phone call 16:01 all they have to have is a phone call 16:03 from president XI to president Trump 16:05 saying I’m going to in fenel production 16:08 that’s killing Americans and it drops 16:10 20% I mean that’s a pretty inexpensive 16:12 phone call but you have to make the 16:14 decision you got to stop killing 16:16 Americans and so far they haven’t made 16:18 that decision shocking but they haven’t 16:20 made that decision and you really got to 16:22 think about that for a minute think 16:24 about that for a minute a phone call 16:26 would save them 20% on all their their 16:29 products but they’d have to stop making 16:31 the ingredients of Fentanyl and they 16:34 refuse outrageous has your has your 16:36 counterpart reached out to set up that 16:38 phone call between President Trump and 16:40 xiin 16:42 ping you know president Trump and uh and 16:45 president she they they have their own 16:47 way they’re not going to be when that 16:49 phone call gets made I don’t think 16:50 they’re asking me to set it up I think 16:52 that’s above me Mr secretary does that 16:54 tell you something about maybe the 16:56 leverage you think you have perhaps you 16:57 don’t have for the Chinese the fact that 17:00 they aren’t reaching out they aren’t 17:01 doing those things despite the fact 17:02 you’ve put tariffs up as much as you 17:06 have well we’ll see remember the these 17:09 tariffs are just going into place and 17:11 you know I I think they will have that 17:13 phone call and they will have lots of 17:15 conversation together I think for me the 17:19 greatest thing for me is that Donald 17:21 Trump is sitting behind the Resolute 17:23 desk in the Oval Office and he is the 17:25 greatest dealmaker and he will decide 17:27 how he wants to play his hand 17:29 but the way he’s played his hand now is 17:31 I he’s been talking about this for 35 17:33 years he wants to reorder trade to have 17:37 the world stop exploiting us to bring 17:39 the factories back to bring employment 17:41 back you know no one thought about when 17:43 NAFTA which he called yesterday the 17:45 worst trade deal ever what NAFTA did it 17:47 gave Canada and Mexico sort of the 17:51 economic right to be a state of the 17:53 United States without paying federal tax 17:55 and without respecting the Constitution 17:57 but you could build in Mexico and drive 17:59 to Texas and build in Canada just drive 18:02 across the border was all fine and no 18:06 you know economically equal to being 18:08 Alabama and Georgia yeah and so what 18:10 happened is our manufacturing left 18:13 America and put those Americans out of 18:15 jobs and Donald Trump wants to bring 18:17 back factories bring back those jobs and 18:21 they can come back 5 trillion dollar 18:23 worth of commitments to bring back those 18:26 jobs is pretty unbelievably impressive 18:29 and that’s what Donald Trump is capable 18:30 of also impressive is the selloff this 18:32 morning and a big question the Market’s 18:34 asking how much pain you’re willing to 18:36 tolerate the S&P is down by 3.7% the 18:39 Dollar’s being sold quite aggressively 18:42 against the Euro we’re seeing one of the 18:43 biggest moves we’ve seen in the last 18:45 decade Mr secretary how much pain are 18:47 you willing to tolerate how much Market 18:49 pain are you willing to 18:52 tolerate Donald Trump is focused on the 18:55 economic pain that the United States of 18:57 America has suffered over decades since 19:00 nap the 990,000 factories not jobs 19:04 factories 5 million high-paying jobs 19:08 gone overseas he’s focused on the US 19:12 worker and the US economy and what’s 19:15 going to happen is people are going to 19:17 realize it is the Great American economy 19:20 that is the winner here and anyone who 19:22 doubts it and anybody who shorts Donald 19:25 Trump or anybody who doubts the strength 19:27 and the power of the American economy is 19:29 making a foolish bet sure importers are 19:33 going to have a tough time figuring out 19:35 what to do because they went and found 19:37 the cheapest production in the world 19:39 it’s time to bring that production home 19:41 to have the smart amazing people who run 19:43 American companies figure it out Bring 19:46 robotics back to America and I would say 19:49 that United States domestic growth is 19:52 going to have the greatest Resurgence 19:54 ever under Donald Trump and that’s what 19:57 he has set in motion 19:59 yesterday you’ll accept it takes time to 20:00 engineer a supply side response though 20:02 sir and in the meantime you can see bad 20:05 things happen do you accept 20:08 that well what I can accept of course it 20:10 takes time to build factories but 20:13 companies understand how to do it they 20:15 will do it the United States of America 20:17 is the greatest economy in the world 20:20 people have to do business with it the 20:23 rest of the world will bring down their 20:25 trade barriers and you’ll see a great 20:27 resurgence in our ability to uh sell 20:31 agriculture overseas you’ll see 20:33 factories being built here and that 20:35 factory production will be faster so 20:37 sure there will be a rebalancing of 20:39 those who make things in cheap labor 20:41 markets figuring out how to make them 20:44 here but ultimately speaking and I think 20:47 in much less time than you think the 20:49 world will reorder itself will figure it 20:52 out and the United States growth rate 20:54 will turbocharge compared to the rest of 20:56 the world we’ve been too close to to 20:58 them because we’ve been you know our 21:00 presidents have been presidents of the 21:02 world and Donald Trump ran on the policy 21:05 that he was going to be the president of 21:07 the United States of the workers of the 21:09 United States and he was going to place 21:12 American workers first and that’s what 21:14 he did yesterday and that’s what 21:16 everybody’s feeling those workers have 21:18 been disrespected and now they’re going 21:21 to be respected Mr secretary just a 21:23 final question if we may any call 21:25 schedule for today with the Europeans do 21:28 those negot start this morning 21:29 immediately can you give us a sense of 21:33 things absolutely we are our teams are 21:36 talking to all the great trading 21:38 partners today and we are available for 21:41 our great trading partners every day it 21:43 is time for them to do deep soul 21:46 searching of how they treat us poorly 21:48 and how to make it right it is time for 21:51 them to do that that is going to be 21:53 difficult for them because they’ve taken 21:55 advantage of us for so long they should 21:57 just be dis disappointed that the Free 21:59 Ride is over it’s time for them to be 22:02 realistic and to change the way they 22:04 look at the United States of America and 22:06 I think that’s going to happen starting 22:08 today