In an effort to get a new trade agreement set with the European Union at the World Economics Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald Trump on Wednesday said EU leaders would have to make a deal with the threat of auto tariffs looming.
Trump told CNBC he discussed the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday in Davos.
Wednesday morning, he reiterated using tariffs as a bargaining tool to get better trade conditions with European countries.
“Look, if we don’t get something, I’m going to have to take action, and the action will be very high tariffs on their cars and other things that come into our country,” he recalled telling von der Leyen during an interview with CNBC that aired Wednesday morning.
Hold on Digital Tax
A meeting between French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at Davos on Wednesday could yield a temporary hold on a French tax on big tech companies’ online business.
Sources told The Associated Press the French will hold off on the tax until November in exchange for the U.S. halting new tariffs on French wines.
Still Talking Climate Change
JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon told The Associated Press that “beating up” on oil companies and banks won’t reverse the potential effects of climate change.
Dimon said governments need to take the reins to reduce carbon dioxide in the air — a surplus of which scientists say contributes to global warming.
In a separate discussion, Trump suggested environmental activist Greta Thunberg should focus on other countries, not the U.S., in her attacks surrounding climate change. He suggested she focus on countries that pollute more, rather than the U.S.
On Tuesday, Trump described climate change activists as “prophets of doom.”
No International IPO for Saudi Aramco … Yet
Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan told Bloomberg TV at Davos that an international listing of oil giant Saudi Aramco won’t happen soon.
He said the listing was “still on the cards.”
The state-run oil company hit a $2 trillion valuation on its second day trading on the Saudi market.
