Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has called United States President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs an “act of war”, as major tariffs on U.S. trading partners enter into effect.
A 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports began today, impacting more than US$918 billion in goods. The U.S. has also increased its tariffs on imports from China to 20%.
“Tariffs are actually, we’ve had a lot of experience with them,” Buffett said in a CBS interview with anchor Norah O’Donnell. “They’re an act of war, to some degree.”
“Over time, they are a tax on goods,” Buffett said.
Buffett said he would not comment on the overall state of the economy, however. “Well, I think that’s the most interesting subject in the world,” he said. “I can’t talk about it, though.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later said in a CNN interview that Buffett’s comments were “silly”, arguing tariffs could supplant the Internal Revenue Service as a source of government revenue. Lutnick has said Trump will abolish the Internal Revenue Service.
Canada has now moved to impose retaliatory tariffs, affecting US$107 billion worth of imports from the U.S.
“Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Trump is likely to agree to a compromise with Mexico and Canada later this week, according to Lutnick. “I think he’s going to work something out with them,” he said.
In addition to his current tariff plans, Trump has said he will also introduce tariffs on items from any country with import taxes on U.S. goods, beginning 2 April.
Buffett’s net worth is an estimated US$132 billion. Berkshire Hathaway’s market capitalisation is $1.07 trillion, with the company reporting more than $325 billion in cash on hand in November.
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