Ken Griffin is the founder and CEO of Citadel, one of the world’s leading alternative investment firms. On Wednesday, Griffin addressed the impact of the Trump administration’s ongoing tariff policies, warning that the global reputation of the U.S. is at stake.
“The United States is more than just a nation—it’s a brand,” Griffin said on Wednesday in a fireside chat during Semafor’s World Economy Summit of which he is a co-chair. From its culture to financial and military strength, the U.S. is an aspiration for most of the world, Griffin said, but at this juncture “we’re eroding that brand right now.”
Griffin’s comments come amid ongoing fallout from the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs President Trump announced on April 2, triggering a market meltdown. Trump pulled back in part a week later by announcing a 90-day pause on certain tariffs, but a 10% tariff on nearly all global imports and a 25% levy on imported cars and certain auto parts remain in place. Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that the U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports, currently at 145%, will “come down substantially but it won’t be zero.”
Griffin cast the recent economic turmoil sparked by the White House in the context of consumers who buy a product because they trust the brand, Griffin explained. “On the financial markets, no brand can compare to the brand of the U.S. Treasuries…we put that brand at risk,” he said. It takes a very long time to remove the tarnish on a brand, Griffin noted.
Fears of the U.S. government’s shifting policies have weakened the dollar against other fiat currencies, though the dollar stabilized on Tuesday as the market ticked back up, Fortune reported. However, 61% of participants in Bank of America’s most recent Global Fund Manager Survey anticipated the dollar would decline in value over the next year.
The President, as well as Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, “need to be very thoughtful,” Griffin said. “When you have a brand, you need to behave in a way that respects that brand.”
Several people who have the president’s ear are in favor of the current tariff policies, he said. And there’s room to debate what the right policy is and what actions to take, he added. “But what’s most important is how we conduct ourselves so we do not diminish the stature of the United States of America,” Griffin said.