The leaders of corporate America think the tariff policies announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday went too far and will hurt the U.S. economy, according to Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner. The investor said Thursday on CNBC’s ” Halftime Report ” that the tariff plan, which includes a 10% blanket levy and higher rates on many of the U.S.’ largest trading partners, was more drastic than the Trump administration had signaled and will prove damaging if it is not scaled back. “I talked to probably 10 CEOs who are all in the Business Roundtable — these are CEOs of the largest companies in America — overnight, and [they all] think this is a huge mistake. They think this is too much, that it will have lasting and cascading negative repercussions for the United States and the global economy,” Gerstner said. Gerstner did not specify who exactly he spoke to, but the members of the Business Roundtable include the CEOs of the biggest companies from multiple industries, including firms such as Apple, Bank of America, Boeing and FedEx. Gerstner’s Altimeter is a technology-focused investment firm. The stock market fell sharply on Thursday after the new levies were announced. Gerstner said the members of the Trump administration “need to get out and reassure everybody” that they will negotiate the tariffs down. “I remain hopeful that this is a step in the direction of this administration of fairer trade, but right now it looks like protectionism,” the Altimeter executive said. There has been little public commentary from major CEOs since the tariffs were announced. The first quarter for many companies ended on March 31, meaning some corporate leaders may choose to be quiet on the topic until their corporate earnings reports, which will start in the coming weeks. Those corporate earnings calls are likely to reflect the negative reaction of business leaders to the tariffs, Gerstner said. “It’s very hard for me to think that any of these calls will have an air of optimism about them,” he said.
