TechFlow news, on March 13, according to Jinshi News, unlike during Trump's first term, U.S. business leaders are now maintaining public silence on the president's trade policies, despite expressing strong concerns privately. At the Yale CEO Summit, executives attending the meeting expressed shock at news that the Trump administration might double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. However, just hours later during a Business Roundtable Q&A session with Trump, these CEOs avoided raising pointed questions.
Business leaders attending the Yale meeting included Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Michael Dell of Dell Technologies, and Albert Bourla of Pfizer. In an impromptu poll, 44% of the CEOs said they would only speak out collectively against presidential policies if the stock market dropped by 20%, while another 22% believed a 30% decline would be necessary before taking a stand. Nearly a quarter of the CEOs indicated that publicly opposing government policy was not their responsibility.
According to former Medtronic CEO Bill George, many corporate leaders fear that public criticism could make them targets of presidential attacks, thereby encouraging him to stick to his tariff agenda. Meanwhile, corporate outlooks for the economy have dimmed. An IACPA survey shows the proportion of executives expressing optimism about the U.S. economy has declined from 67% in last year's fourth quarter to 47% currently.
