Trumps tariffs are tool to level the playing field, says Goldmans David Solomon

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon called President Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico an effort to “level the playing field” – but said the trade policy has caused heightened caution among his fellow business leaders.The stiff 25% tariffs on the North American neighbors, as well as a 20 % levy on China, took effect Tuesday after Trump had agreed to a monthlong pause. “The president firmly believes that there are imbalances with respect to how trade exists, and he has a strong point of view that he wants to level the playing field aggressively,” Solomon said during the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney on Tuesday.“He’s executing on that view,” he added.On Monday, Trump told reporters there was “no room left” for the nations to avoid the tariffs, arguing they had not done enough to curb the flow of illicit fentanyl over the border.The president has also indicated the import tariffs are a way to bring more manufacturing jobs to the US.How long the new levies will last has become the hot topic on Wall Street, according to Solomon.“How things stay in place, how far it goes … is some of the uncertainty that I’m talking about,” he said.Economists have warned the trade policy could reheat inflation, spooking investors and causing prolonged market volatility.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and tech-heavy S&P 500 have erased their post-inauguration gains.Solomon said, “the chance of recession in 2025 is small but it’s not zero.”The chief executive also discussed Goldman’s move to remove its diversity, equity and inclusion section from its annual shareholder filing, echoing a reversal by other Wall Street giants like BlackRock and Bank of America.“With some of the changes given [with] the executive orders, and law, we have to communicate differently around these things,” Solomon said.He nodded to Trump’s executive order banning DEI across the federal level, as well as his statements pushing private compan...