Investor Warren Buffett warned Saturday against using trade as a weapon, saying President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have strained global relations and unsettled markets.
Speaking to thousands at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting, Buffett said the U.S. risks alienating the world by adopting a combative approach.
“It’s a big mistake, in my view, when 7.5 billion people don’t like you very well, and 300 million are crowing about how they’ve done,” he said.
While Buffett acknowledged the need for balanced trade, he criticized Trump’s widespread tariffs, arguing prosperity and peace depend on mutual growth. “We should be looking to trade with the rest of the world. We should do what we do best, and they should do what they do best,” he said.
Despite challenges at home and abroad, Buffett expressed enduring confidence in the U.S.
He pointed to America’s history of upheaval – from revolution to the long struggle for equality – as proof that progress takes time, but the country’s future remains bright.
“If I were being born today, I would just keep negotiating in the womb until they said, ‘You could be in the U.S.,’” Buffett said.
Tariffs were the top subject shareholders asked about in the questions they submitted in advance to the CNBC reporter who will question Buffett and his top two managers throughout the day. But investors will also be watching for him to explain why he is sitting on $347.7 billion in cash at Berkshire.
Buffett said he just doesn’t see many attractively priced investments he understands these days, but predicted that one day Berkshire will be “bombarded with opportunities that we will be glad we have the cash for.”
Haibo Liu even camped out overnight outside the arena to be first in line Saturday morning. Liu said he worries that this year could be Buffett’s last meeting since he is 94, so he made it a priority to attend his second meeting.
“He has helped me a lot,” said Liu, who traveled from China to attend. “I really want to express my thanks to him.”
The meeting attracts some 40,000 people each year who want to hear from Buffett, including celebrities and well-known investors. This year, Hillary Rodham Clinton also attended. Clinton was the last candidate Buffett publicly backed, as he has since shied away from politics and controversial topics for fear of hurting Berkshire’s businesses.
Shareholder Linda Smith, 73, first learned about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway when she rented a room from his sister, Doris, while she was a graduate student in Washington, D.C. Smith said Doris came home from an annual meeting not long after Berkshire bought See’s Candies and told her she had to buy the stock.
Smith couldn’t buy it immediately because a single share cost about $3,400 – equal to her income as a grad student. But as soon as she got a job after college, she followed her friend’s advice and began saving to buy stock that now sells for $809,350.
Over the years, Smith estimates she has attended about 20 annual meetings – often bringing a friend.
“I really like to listen to Warren Buffett – particularly this year with everything that has happened,” Smith said.
Buffett has long said he has no plans to retire because he enjoys figuring out where to invest Berkshire’s money too much. He plans to continue working until he dies or becomes incapacitated. Though he now uses a cane and shortened this year’s question-and-answer session by a couple of hours, he remains in good health.
“I think even if he dies, these businesses will retain their value,” Smith said, looking around the 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall filled with booths from Berkshire companies such as BNSF Railway, Geico, Pilot truck stops, Duracell and many others. “I anticipate my stock going down for a while, but good businesses and good people will come back,” she said.
Still, Smith and thousands of others will miss hearing Buffett’s voice of reason when he is gone. He has now been leading Berkshire for 60 years.
