(Bloomberg) – Scott Bessent walked on the biggest gathering in the months of Wall Street's global trade champion, aiming to explain why President Donald Trump posed a barrier to global trade.
The tip of the tip, his eyes tucked, the Treasury Secretary told a quiet crowd that tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation were “part of the engines interconnected” to promote U.S. influence – highlighting that it was all thoughtfully designed. He quickly paused: “Hope you can see a bigger picture now.”
The verdict was promptly proposed: Invest in Titans and financial leaders at the Milken College global conference in Beverly Hills and said they could be the same as tariffs and trade reprocessing – and will be resolved soon.
KKR&Co. Co-founder Henry Kravis, Citigroup Inc. CEO Jane Fraser and Carlyle Group Inc. This has the potential to undermine the economy.
Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management Inc., once held the Best position in the Treasury Department, once held a party on Monday, praised Trump's intentions.
But the chaos in recent weeks has damaged the reputation of the United States due to “stability, predictability, regularity,” Rowan said. “I see us going from being highly competent to being just great.”
Sometimes, meetings provide a split screen of confidence and attention. On the one hand, Bessent stressed that the United States is in a strong negotiating position and remains the “main destination” of international capital and will become a more attractive environment for “investors like you.”
But many Wall Street leaders paint vivid pictures of C-Suite uncertainty.
Fraser of Citigroup said corporate clients are strengthening their balance sheets, raising inventory, and suspending spending or investment in their businesses. Executives negotiated fiercely with bankers and ran through the scene. She expects this to turn into action later this year.
Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said that the global economy could pay a “not small” price along the way. After all, trade imbalances have been established for years and are struggling in unpredictable ways.
“We are now moving from a predictable trading system to a new equilibrium,” she said. “The way from here to there is very uncertain.”
Michael Goosay, chief investment officer for fixed income of major asset management, said in an interview with Milken.
“If we solve this without much extra friction, we think we are in an environment where you can actually see a mid-year growth regaining in 2026,” he said.
Several monetary managers stressed that long-term capital will promote the government's goal of revitalizing the U.S. industrial base and capital infrastructure, giving the U.S. an advantage in the global AI arms race.
According to attendees, if the Trump administration says it has talks with many of its major trading partners, it will announce at least some deals and keep business leaders informed about what’s going on in the future.
It will also make it clear that “the United States intends to play.”
“Keep calm and keep moving forward,” KKR co-founder George Roberts told another audience member. Trade deals are going to be completed because they have to be, and the government has gone back to some of the “novel ideas” it has proposed.
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman made slightly different suggestions about Trump’s camp when his peers called for a quick solution. Last month, billionaire investors announced a 90-day pause, with most reciprocity tariffs negotiating with countries around the world.
“As we see from the president, there’s a bit of shock and awe in the way he goes, which tends to scare people,” Ackerman said. “End of the day he’s a trader. He loves to make deals.”
But, for the moment, Ackerman said Trump should put the tariffs on hold for 180 days.
– With the assistance of Alexandre Rajbhandari, Janet Lorin, Enda Curran, Aaron Weinman, John Gittelsohn, Allison McNeely, Laura Benitez, Simone Foxman and Jason Kelly.
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