Warren Buffett, Direct hit from Trump's Tariff policy... "Trade should not become a weapon"

Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders' meeting (Source: Yonhap News)

‘Sage of Omaha’ Warren Buffett openly opposed Donald Trump, the U.S. President's China tariff policy. He strongly supported traditional free trade theory, saying that trade should not become a weapon between countries.

At the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders' meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska, on the 3rd (local time), Buffett said, “The more prosperous other countries in the world are, the more the United States can prosper with them.” He continued, “We should do what we are best at, and other countries should do what they are best at,” emphasizing trade principles based on comparative advantage theory.

This perspective is contrary to President Trump's policy of imposing high tariffs on foreign goods to protect domestic manufacturing. In particular, Buffett pointed out that the approach of forcing domestic production due to tariffs runs counter to the flow of the global economy.

As this shareholders' meeting was held at a time when U.S. tariff policies and concerns about economic slowdown coincided, interest in Buffett's views was higher than ever. A record 19,700 people attended the meeting, and participants paid attention to Buffett's cautious but firm message.

Berkshire posted an operating profit of $9.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, but it was a 14% decrease compared to the same period last year. The poor performance of the insurance sector and foreign exchange losses had an impact. On the other hand, cash-like assets increased to $347.7 billion (about 487 trillion won). Berkshire stated in its performance report, “Changes in international trade policy and tariffs can have a negative impact on our performance and asset value, and it is difficult to predict the impact accurately enough to be reliable.”

Buffett maintained a calm perspective on stock market volatility as well. “If you get excited when the market goes up and scared when it goes down, stocks can be a terrible investment for that person,” he said, emphasizing investment based on principles rather than emotions.

This statement came at a time when President Trump was hinting at expanding tariffs daily and increasing the level of trade pressure, which is likely to influence changes in the perceptions of conservative investors in the United States.