(Bloomberg) — Scott Bessent walked on stage at the largest gathering in months of Wall Street’s champions of global trade, aiming to explain why President Donald Trump is putting up hurdles to global trade.
Fingertips steepled, his eyes panning, the Treasury secretary told a quiet crowd that tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation are “interlocking parts of an engine” to boost America’s clout — emphasizing it’s all thoughtfully designed. He soon paused: “I hope you can see the bigger picture now.”
The verdict came swiftly: Investing titans and financial leaders at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills lined up to say they can live with tariffs and a reworking of trade — just get it settled soon.
KKR & Co. co-founder Henry Kravis, Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser and Carlyle Group Inc.’s Harvey Schwartz were among the chorus warning that corporate leaders are rattled and in limbo while waiting to see how trade talks play out. That risks damaging the economy.
“What the administration wants to do is not wrong,” Apollo Global Management Inc. CEO Marc Rowan, once a top contender for Bessent’s post atop the Treasury, said in a Bloomberg Television interview at the gathering on Monday, echoing others in nodding to Trump’s intent.
But the chaos of recent weeks is hurting the US reputation for “stability, predictability, regularity,” Rowan said. “I see us moving from what was hyper-exceptionalism to merely exceptional.”
At times, the conference offered a split screen of confidence and concern. On one side, Bessent emphasized that the US is in a strong negotiating position, remains the “premier destination” for international capital and will become an even more appealing environment for “investors like you.”
But many Wall Street leaders painted a vivid picture of C-suite uncertainty.
Corporate clients are strengthening their balance sheets, pulling forward inventory and pausing spending or investments in their businesses, Citigroup’s Fraser said. Executives are locked in intense talks with bankers and running through scenarios. She expects that to turn into action later this year.
Along the way, the global economy may pay a price that “is not trivial,” International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. After all, trade imbalances built up for years and are coming to a head in a manner that is difficult to anticipate.
“We are now going from a predictable trade regime to what is going to be a new equilibrium,” she said. “The way from here to there, very uncertain.”
Such uncertainty is creating the potential for a recession — but economic growth may end up stronger, Michael Goosay, chief investment officer for fixed income at Principal Asset Management, said in an interview at Milken.
“If we get through this without a lot of additional friction, we think we are in an environment where you can actually see a reacceleration of growth in the latter part of the year and into 2026,” he said.
Several money managers emphasized that long-term capital would advance the government’s goals of revitalizing America’s industrial base and fund infrastructure to give the US an edge in a global AI arms race.
It would also be helpful if the Trump administration, which has said it’s deeply engaged in talks with a slew of major trading partners, would announce at least a few deals and give business leaders a sense of what the future holds, according to attendees.
That would also make clear “the US intends to play ball,” Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson said.
“Stay calm and carry on,” KKR co-founder George Roberts told another audience, borrowing a phrase from the British. Trade deals are going to get done, because they have to be, and the administration is already walking back some of the “novel ideas” it came up with, he said.
While fellow attendees called for a quick resolution, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman pitched a slightly different suggestion for Trump’s camp. Last month, the billionaire investor got his way when the president announced a 90-day pause for most reciprocal tariffs to negotiate with countries around the world.
“The way he goes about things, as we’ve seen from the president, is a bit of shock and awe, which tends to scare people,” Ackman said. “Ultimately he’s a dealmaker. He likes to make deals.”
But for the moment, Ackman said, Trump should put tariffs on China on hold for 180 days.
–With assistance from Alexandre Rajbhandari, Janet Lorin, Enda Curran, Aaron Weinman, John Gittelsohn, Allison McNeely, Laura Benitez, Simone Foxman and Jason Kelly.
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