“Trump is off to a great start, so it’s disappointing to see his tariff policy muddying the waters of where the U.S. and world economies are headed,” says Don Ochsenreiter, the CEO of Dollamur Sport Surfaces
By Ada Jain
The Yale CEO Caucus found corporate leaders miserable about President Donald Trump’s trade program on Tuesday. Its attendees included corporate bigwigs such as JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon, billionaire Michael Dell, and Pfizer chief Albert Bourla. Though the attendees identified as 60% Republican to 40% Democrat, the mood was dour.
A new poll by Chief Executive magazine found that executive officers’ assessment of American business conditions was at its lowest level since spring 2020 but the confidence has been low especially in March under the shadow of Trump’s trade war.
READ: The perils of Trump’s proposed tariff trade war (February 6, 2025)
Trump’s aggressive tariff proposals, such as blanket tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, have raised alarms among some CEOs. These policies could disrupt global supply chains, increase costs for raw materials and goods, and hurt profitability for companies reliant on international trade.
For instance, President Trump’s suggestion to double steel and aluminum tariffs has been cited as particularly worrisome, especially for industries like manufacturing and automotive that depend on cross-border trade with Canada.
Additionally, going back in time, the AT&T-Time Warner case is often cited as an example of why CEOs might fear Trump’s retribution. If Trump could allegedly target a deal this size over a grudge with CNN, it signaled to corporate leaders that crossing him could invite regulatory or political headaches.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, for instance, who once banned Trump from Meta, right around Trump’s second inaugural, decided to remove fact-checking labels on its platforms this month, replacing them with Community Notes to eliminate the possibility of professional fact-checkers having “biases.” Many saw the move as more aligned with the incoming Trump administration, given his leader’s earlier accusations of tech companies being biased against conservative voices.
The FTC’s antitrust case challenging Meta’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, which is expected to go to trial in April this year, and Trump’s new stance with the ByteDance-owned Tiktok seems to be another reason that changed Meta’s direction.
Other tech CEOs did not hold back either from acting on their fears. During Trump’s inaugural ceremony at Washington D.C. on Jan. 20, industry titans such as Tesla’s Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella got front-row seats.
Pichai donated $1 million to Trump 2.0 inaugural fund despite the rocky relationship they had earlier. This could be due to fear of antitrust laws and amidst corporate and consumer confidence continuing to plummet. “Trump is off to a great start, so it’s disappointing to see his tariff policy muddying the waters of where the U.S. and world economies are headed,” says Don Ochsenreiter, the CEO of Dollamur Sport Surfaces.
READ: Canada, China, Mexico, South Korea, India among 10 countries to be hit by Trump’s tariffs on aluminum, steel (February 11, 2025)
Donating to a president’s inaugural fund is a highly effective way for uber wealthy individuals and big corporations to win political favor. For instance, Trump’s previous inaugural committee settled a case in 2022 brought by the D.C. attorney general, accusing the committee of grossly overpaying Trump-owned properties that held inauguration events for their event space — ultimately serving Trump’s personal interests.
Additionally, Amazon Prime Video is bringing Trump-starrer “Apprentice” to people, allegedly to appease Trump as the TV series surrounds his life at the intersection of business and politics.