Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said the business community “understands” that President Trump is “trying to do with tariffs,” but added that executives “always want lower tariffs.”
Solomon's comments on Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday came a week after Trump said he wanted “leveling the arena” by imposing taxes on imports.
“I think the business community understands what the president is trying to do with… tariffs. The business community wants lower tariffs everywhere, anywhere in the world.” He said in an exclusive interview about “A Morning with Maria.”
“At this point, there is some uncertainty in the market that is digesting it, but we have to see and see how this works.”
Solomon praised Trump for being “engaged with the business community.”
“I love that President Trump is working with the business community. The administration is working with the business community,” Solomon told Fox Business Network.
“It's another experience we've had over the past four years. We'll also observe a sense of optimism from the president during yesterday's engagement.”
Solomon, who has led the Wall Street Investment Banking Powerhouse since 2018, spoke with Fox Business Network the day after meeting with Trump as part of Washington's CEO Roundtable.
Speaking to Solomon and other top executives amid the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the administration's trade policy, Trump reiterated his commitment to tariffs and warned that additional obligations could be imposed and existing fees could rise further.
The statement came hours after he tried to ease concerns about the economic downturn and declared that the US economy was poised to become a “boom.”
Attending the meeting, Solomon emphasized that corporate leaders are seeking stability in economic policies to promote long-term planning and investment.
“As we move forward, the more we become more certain we are in our policy agenda, the more we can support capital investment and growth,” he said.
The bank boss said he has noticed more and more careful commentary from other business leaders in recent weeks. This relates to the lack of clarity about the ultimate impact of Trump's economic policy.
“How things stay, how far it goes… it's part of the uncertainty I'm talking about,” he said.
Despite market volatility, Solomon on Wednesday expressed optimism about the outlook for an early public service (IPO) despite current economic uncertainty.
“IPOs have been muted over the past few years,” Solomon said. “The pipeline is bigger and is expected to increase this year.”
However, he acknowledged that sustained uncertainty has sidelined several deals as businesses await clearer regulatory signals.
“It could unleash more animal spirits, especially if we acquire more specific actions in terms of regulation,” he said, suggesting that a more critical policy approach could stimulate economic activity.
Last week, Solomon told a meeting in Australia that Trump is implementing a plan to “level the playing field” that he sees as unfair by imposing tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, but the end result remains uncertain.
“The president has been determined to have an imbalance in how trade exists, and he has a strong view of actively leveling the arena,” Goldman Sachs chair told the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney last Tuesday.
“He is doing that view,” added Solomon.
Canada will announce $2 billion in retaliation tariffs in the US on Wednesday in response to Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, Canadian officials told Reuters.
The increase in tariffs on Trump's steel and aluminum imports took effect Wednesday as a campaign to sort the US-favorable global trade codes due to previous exemptions, tax exemption allocations, product exclusions expired, and as a campaign to rearrange previous global trade codes.
While investment banking activities have been rising in recent months, Dealogic data shows that US mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are slowing.
In the first two months of 2025, only 1,603 transactions were confirmed as of Friday, marking the slowest pace since 2009.
Trump defended his tariff strategy in a meeting with CEOs of a major US company despite concerns from business leaders about the economic impact.
Many of these executives have seen companies' market values fall amid fears of inflation and recession.
But Trump argued that tariffs are necessary tools for trade negotiations, suggesting that they could be expanded.
This post is being asked for comment from the White House.
With post wire
