Warren Buffett was at a press conference during the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting to be held on April 30th, 2022.
CNBC
Legendary investor Warren Buffett made a rare comment on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, saying punitive obligations could cause inflation and hurt consumers.
“Taxes are actually, we have a lot of experience with them. They are some acts of war,” says Berkshire Hathaway, a conglomerate, has a large insurance, rail, manufacturing, energy and retail business. He made a comment in an interview with CBS News Nora O’Donnell for a new documentary about the late Washington Post publisher, Katherine Graham.
“As time goes by, they’re taxes on goods, meaning the tooth fairies aren’t paying!” Buffett said with a laugh. “And what? You always need to ask that question in economics. Do you always say, ‘And what?’ ”
This shows the first public comment from the 94-year-old “Omaha Oracle” about Trump’s trade policy. Last week, Trump announced that a 25% maritime tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada would come into effect on March 4th, with an additional 10% tariff being charged on the same day. China vowed to retaliate.
During Trump’s first term, Berkshire’s chairman and CEO gave lengthy opinions on the trade disputes that broke out in 2018 and 2019, warning that the Republican aggressive move could have negative global outcomes.
When asked about the current state of the economy by CBS, Buffett declined to comment directly on it.
“Well, I think it’s the most interesting subject in the world, but I don’t talk about it, I can’t talk about it. I can’t really talk about it,” Buffett said.
Buffett has been in defensive mode as he has dumped stocks rapidly over the past year and raised a record amount of cash. Some have read Buffett’s conservative moves as a bearish call to the market and the economy, while others believe he is preparing a conglomerate for his successor by cutting oversized positions and building up cash.
Market volatility has recently risen due to growing concerns about slower economy, unpredictable policy changes from Trump, and overall stock valuations. The S&P 500 has risen by about 1% this year.
