Davos Elite nods as Trump delivers ultimatum

World leaders, the heads of the world’s biggest companies and a sprinkling of celebrities are gathering in the small Swiss town of Davos for the annual World Economic Forum this week.

On the other side of the Atlantic, President Donald Trump was beginning his political comeback as the new president of the United States.

“Nothing will stand in our way,” he declared, while promising to end America’s “decline.”

Towards the end of the meeting, President Trump was broadcast directly from the White House webcam to deliver his message of world domination directly to the global elite.

While he captivated, almost seduced, the audience with a credible image of a booming American economy on the verge of scaling new technological heights, he simultaneously threatened with threats of tariffs on those who did not choose to shift their factories to the United States.

Trillions of dollars of fees to the US Treasury for those companies that export to the US market from foreign factories.

“Your prerogative,” he said, with a smile not out of place in a godfather movie. And then, for one of their own, Bank of America chief Brian Moynihan, a notable public tie accusing the lending giant of “debating” many of its conservative supporters.

He mumbled awkwardly about sponsoring the World Cup.

In this first week of his second term, most people in Davos are nodding, as they cannot think of what else to do, yet.

Two worlds collided, as the ‘America First’ president was broadcast as a 30-foot interplanetary emperor, at the beating heart of the rules-based international economic order.

It’s one thing to suggest that trade deficits are a problem with your domestic electorate. YoIt is quite another to suggest in an internationalist forum that a G7 ally, Canadabecoming a state of their nation, causing gasps from the audience, and not just from Canadians.

The address was, by design, charming and offensive. There was carrot and stick to the rest of the world.

As delegates absorbed the mix of threats, invitations and, at times, praise, many seemed to be trying to decide how much Trump could damage the global trading system, while also assessing how far ahead his America is getting in this AI-driven boom. by technology.

During this first week, Davos has been the alternative pole of Trump’s second term.

There was coherence in their agenda to use all means to Lower energy prices, including pressurizing the Saudis on oil.

This he said would not only help reduce inflation, but also drain Russia’s war coffers of oil to help end the Ukraine war, by economic means. The ceasefire in the Middle East has already bought Trump some geopolitical credibility in these circles.

Christine Lagarde, David Miliband and John Kerry shuffled in the hallway. Several bank bosses gathered on stage to praise and then lightly question the president.

The bottom line was this: Is President Trump serious about what sounded like campaign threats to the global economic system? The answer will reverberate for the next four years and beyond.

The answer sounded like a definitely, yes. However, this does not mean that it will work.

Some US CEOs told me they were preparing for Tit-for-Tat retaliatory tariffs to apply to their exports. Their assumption was that the president’s love of a rising stock market would restrain his rollout of tariffs.

But no one really knows. In any case, a lot is at stake. He has already withdrawn from the World Health Organization.

On the walks, the whisper was about their 2025 project allies who suggested withdrawal from the IMF and the World Bank as well.

The rest of the world has a contrary influence, once it decides to get back on its feet after the Trump whirlwind.

Canadians are now reporting their retaliatory tariffs. In talks with British Business Secretary and EU Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds and Head of Trade of the European Union, Maros SefcovicI detected a desire for calm dialogue.

Both are making similar arguments to try to dissuade Trump from broader tariffs.

Reynolds told me that since the United States does not have a goods trade deficit with the United Kingdom, there is no need for tariffs.

Sefcovic said the United States should also think about its surplus in services.

But don’t you consider threats to G7 and NATO allies Canada and Denmark (over Greenland) to be directly unacceptable and as absurd as France claiming Louisiana? Sefcovic did not want to prepare anything.

Diplomats are making lists of American products that Europe can now buy to demonstrate “victories” for President Trump, from weapons to gas to the magnets in wind turbines.

It might make sense for the rest of the G7 to work in unison to retaliate against the tariffs, to focus the minds of Congress and competing factions inside Trump’s court.

There is no sign of that happening.

The history of American technological supremacy personified by the broligarchy – iAmazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta Boss Mark Zuckerberg, Apple leader Tim Cook and Google boss Sundar Pichar – I had premium seats at the opening this week.

While the United States is ahead of Europe, its position against China is more uncertain.

One of the Davos talks was Deepseek’s much cheaper, high-performance AI model made in China. The prediction that the tech brothers would be tearing each other apart in Trump’s courtroom began to come true in a matter of hours, rather than months.

Meanwhile, while most, though not all, here in Davos sounded quite seduced by Trump’s technological optimism, some in Europe also see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attract top researchers who may be less than enamored of technology. address. of US policy. It was openly suggested by European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde.

Others sought solace in the fact that Europe no longer has to face Biden’s massive green subsidies, creating a more level playing field for Europe again.

President Trump is changing the terms of global trade. How the rest of the world responds to this is as important as what the Trump administration decides.

January 24: The headline of this story has been updated to better reflect its content.