The morning after President Donald Trump addressed corporate America in Washington, one of the nation’s top chief executives called on him for more policy certainty.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon said headwinds from tariffs are hampering dealmaking activity, and business chiefs are eager for more clarity on where policy is headed.
“The level of uncertainty is a little bit higher, and that has kept some things on the sidelines,” Solomon said Wednesday on Fox Business. “The more we can have certainty on the policy agenda as we move forward, the better that’s going to support capital investment and growth.”
Despite the uncertainty, he said he expects mergers and capital-markets activity to pick up through the year, adding that promised cuts to U.S. regulations are also likely to create tailwinds. In addition to tariffs, tax and energy policy are key areas for business leaders, he said.
The Goldman CEO also emphasized the difference in tone and communications from the administration compared to the four years under former President Joe Biden. Trump had a “sense of optimism” while speaking to the business community, which “understands what the president is trying to do with tariffs,” Solomon said.
Trump addressed Solomon and other chief executives at the Business Roundtable in Washington Tuesday amid major questions around the president’s tariff agenda, which has triggered retaliation and shaken global stock markets.
Trump warned executives that more tariffs could come and rates could rise even higher. That came just hours after he played down fears of a recession, saying the U.S. economy was going to “boom.”