Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News

4 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

P.M. Edition for Mar. 12. President Trump’s stop-and-start trade policy is prompting executives to call officials for clarity. WSJ White House economic policy reporter Brian Schwartz discusses what they’re hoping to gain. Plus, CEOs critical of the Trump administration aren’t saying so publicly. We hear from Journal management reporter Chip Cutter about what it would take to get them to speak out. And Canada and the European Union impose retaliatory tariffs after U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum go into effect. WSJ reporter Kim Mackrael breaks down how the EU tariffs would work, and how they could affect the U.S. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Americans love using their credit cards, the most secure and hassle-free way to pay.
0:04.0	But DC politicians want to change that with the Durban Marshall Credit Card Bill.
0:08.0	This bill lets corporate megastores pick how your credit card is processed,
0:13.0	allowing them to use untested payment networks that jeopardize your data security and rewards.
0:18.0	Corporate megastores will make more money and you pay the price.
0:22.1	Tell Congress to guard your card because Americans lose when politicians choose. Learn more at
0:28.1	guard your card.com.
0:33.3	U.S. inflation rose less than expected in February, but tariffs are still looming.
0:39.1	Plus, Canada and the EU impose retaliatory tariffs, and some may hit the U.S. where it hurts.
0:45.8	And Trump's economic messaging is spooking CEOs, but in public, they're keeping their opinions to themselves.
0:52.1	CEOs are saying the stock market would have to fall by a lot for them to really say anything.
0:56.5	And there was still a group of CEOs in those respondents who said they didn't feel like there was any sort of room for them to speak out right now.
1:02.2	It's Wednesday, March 12th.
1:03.9	I'm Alex Osala for the Wall Street Journal.
1:05.8	This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
1:16.5	New data from the Labor Department show that consumer prices were up 2.8% in February versus a year earlier.
1:23.1	That's lower than the January gain of 3%, and slightly lower than economist expectations.
1:28.4	For more on these numbers, I'm joined by WSJ economics reporter Justin Layhart.
1:32.8	Okay, Justin, we've been hearing so much about the economic impact of Trump's tariffs.
1:36.8	Are they affecting these numbers?
1:38.8	Not yet.
1:39.6	Most of the tariffs didn't go into effect until this month.
	...

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