MEXICO CITY – Business leaders around the world awoke Wednesday to a new reality with Republican Donald Trump set to return to the White House, promising greater US protectionism, higher tariffs and tighter immigration policies.
Chief executive officers, who for months had tiptoed around questions about a potential change in US power, began confronting the new order in boardrooms and on earnings calls, where investors sought to price in the effect of a Trump win.
On a call to discuss the quarterly results of Norwegian chemical-storage company Odfjell SE, an analyst asked about the impact of Trump becoming the next US president: “What will that mean for your markets?”
CEO Harald Fotland answered with a warning: “We will see more protectionism, and that might be an issue for exports out of the US.”
There could be a slight reduction in Odfjell’s activities in the US, Mr Fotland said, and he also expects Trump to reverse part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes incentives that have attracted massive investments in greener energy to the US.
“That is of course not good for the planet, but it might be good for Europe, which is struggling a bit because of that law.”
Tariffs were also on the mind of Shinji Aoyama, executive vice president of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co.
New levies on cars imported into the US from Mexico, as Trump has pushed, “would have a big impact,” Mr Aoyama said in an earnings briefing. “We can’t afford not to think about it.”
Other executives sought to take a diplomatic tone: When asked how a Trump presidency would affect Swiss-Belgian chocolate maker Barry Callebaut AG, CEO Peter Feld said the company will continue to serve customers in the US “whoever is in charge,” and that the leadership switch