Trump seduces entrepreneurs, wants a meeting with Putin and warns Europe: “The EU is treating America very, very badly”

In a twenty-minute speech, Donald Trump rattled off a wide range of topics. He called his first 72 hours in office “nothing short of a revolution of common sense” and reiterated that a “golden era” has begun for the US. He also lashed out at his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, whose “mistakes” the Trump administration is “fully trying to correct.” Then Trump rushed through his campaign promises and his first policy changes. He mentioned, among other things, the US exit from the Paris climate agreement and the end of Biden’s New Green Deal, and reiterated that the US would make full use of “the liquid gold under our feet”.

About the war in Ukraine

But in his speech and during the panel discussion afterwards, the American president also paid much more attention to the war in Ukraine, which he described as “an absolute battlefield” in which “many more people have died than are reported”. Trump called on Saudi Arabia and the other countries of OPEC, the cartel of oil-producing countries, to lower the oil price so that the war in Ukraine can end, as the Russian economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues.

“I’m surprised they didn’t do that before the elections. You have to show a little love,” Trump said. “If the price of oil were to fall, the war between Russia and Ukraine would end immediately. Right now the price is high enough to keep the war going. You have to lower the price. They should have done that a long time ago. They bear a great responsibility to some extent, millions of lives are lost,” Trump said. Surprisingly, oil prices fell shortly after his speech.

Asked whether the war between Russia and Ukraine will be over by next year’s World Economic Forum, Trump said “you have to ask Russia.” “Ukraine is ready to make a deal,” he said. The US leader said he would “like to meet quickly with President Putin to end the war”. “I’m not saying that from an economic standpoint or anything else, but millions of lives are being wasted,” Trump said.

About relations with the European Union

After a question from the panel, Donald Trump also elaborated on relations between the US and the European Union. He claimed that the rates and taxes charged by European countries are too high and that European regulations are too restrictive. He also called the trade deficit with the US too large and complained that the EU has taken American companies such as Google and Facebook to court.

“We are going to do something about that,” said Trump, who also criticized Europe for not importing enough American agricultural products and cars. “I try to be constructive because I love Europe. I like the countries of Europe, but the (business) process is very cumbersome and they treat the United States very, very unfairly and badly.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Davos on Monday that the EU is willing to work with Trump. According to her, no other economy in the world is “as integrated” as the US and the EU.

About the import duties on foreign products

Trump tried to entice entrepreneurs to move their production to the United States by promising low taxes, and threatened high import duties for those who did not. “Come make your product in the US and we will give you one of the lowest taxes in the world,” said Trump, who promised to reduce corporate taxes to 15 percent for companies that produce their products in the US.

“If you do not make your product in the US, which is your right, then you will simply have to pay import duties.” According to Trump, these tariffs could fill the US treasury with hundreds or even thousands of billions of dollars.

Trump previously threatened to impose import duties on products from various countries, such as Canada, China and Mexico, and the EU. The Republican also believes that economic confidence in the US is increasing enormously. According to him, many companies have announced plans to invest “billions and billions” in the US economy.

NAVO Over

President Trump also called on NATO countries to invest more in defense. He reiterated his wish to aim for a defense budget of 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), while the NATO standard is currently 2 percent.

“I’m going to ask all NATO countries to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, which should have been done years ago,” Trump said. “It was only 2 percent and most countries didn’t pay until I came,” he continued.

Currently, 23 of the 32 Member States meet the 2 percent standard. Belgium is still far from that, with a budget of 1.30 percent of GDP. The US itself fluctuates around 3.50 percent. Relatively speaking, Poland has the highest defense budget and is already close to the 5 percent desired by Trump.

About Canada as the 51st American state

Trump also denounced the US trade deficit with Canada, and reiterated his desire to redress the tariff imbalance. “We don’t need their cars or their lumber,” Trump said. The president also said again that Canada is free to become a US state, so that there will no longer be a trade deficit. There was some commotion in the room at that suggestion.