President to "Solve Every Single Crisis"

President Donald Trump, in his first international address of his second term, addressed delegates at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Pledging a “revolution of common sense,” he vowed to “solve every single crisis facing our country.”

"We’ve accomplished more in less than four days — we have really been working — four days — than other administrations have accomplished in four years, and we’re just getting started," he asserted.

Trump reiterated his long-standing criticism of unfair trade practices, targeting the European Union and Canada among others.

"I'm trying to be constructive because I love Europe," he said. "I love the countries of Europe, but the process is a very cumbersome one, and they do treat the United States of America very, very unfairly."

“They have a large VAT tax, and they don’t take our farm products or cars, yet they send millions of cars to us.” He warned that businesses opting not to manufacture in the US would face tariffs aimed at generating significant revenue for the American economy.

On Tuesday Mr. Trump began his drumbeat against Europe: "The European Union is very, very bad to us,” he told reporters at the White House. “So they're going to be in for tariffs. It's the only way ... you're going to get fairness.”

The President made his pitch to the crowd at Davos:  “My message to every business in the world is simple: come make your product in America, and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on Earth.

"But if you don't make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then, very simply, you will have to pay a tariff, differing amounts, but a tariff which will direct hundreds of billions of dollars, and even trillions of dollars, into our Treasury to strengthen our economy and pay down debt."

His statements prompted WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to caution against the potentially “catastrophic” consequences of trade wars. “Please let’s not hyperventilate,” the DG said Thursday. “Could we chill?”

In addition to his tariff threats, Trump called for reforms to the corporate tax rate to encourage US-based manufacturing. He announced plans to streamline regulatory approvals for industries such as artificial intelligence and renewable energy, leveraging emergency declarations to bypass lengthy bureaucratic processes. “We’re going to make it so plants can have their own electric generating facilities attached. They won’t have to worry about utilities,” he said.

Addressing global energy markets, Trump urged Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices, suggesting that doing so would immediately end the war in Ukraine.

He also proposed that Saudi Arabia invest $1 trillion in the US. “I’ll be asking the crown prince to round it out to $1 trillion. I think they’ll do that because we’ve been very good to them,” he remarked.

The president’s speech, branded as a “revolution of common sense,” included a bold pledge to tackle all major crises facing the United States. However, critics noted the potential for increased global economic instability resulting from his policies. While Trump highlighted his commitment to economic growth, his approach sparked significant concern among international leaders gathered at Davos.

"Tariffs against friends and allies is a crazy idea,"  Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told the Wall Street Journal.

Trump concluded his speech with optimism for the future, emphasizing rapid approvals for industrial projects and his administration’s efforts to support technological innovation. 

"We’re going to give very rapid approvals in the United States, like with the AI plants, talking to — many people want to build them.  That’s going to be a very big thing.