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Legendary investor Warren Buffett criticized planned U.S. tariffs on international trade partners, noting that the duties may hurt consumers.
“Tariffs are actually, we’ve had a lot of experience with them. They’re an act of war, to some degree,” the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A-1.67%) CEO told CBS News over the weekend.
“Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn’t pay ‘em!” Buffett said, laughing. “And then what? You always have to ask that question in economics. You always say, ‘And then what?’”
It marks the first time that Buffett has commented on the trade policies of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly invoked tariffs as a method to bridge trade deficits between the U.S. and other countries.
On Tuesday, 25% duties on most imports from Mexico and Canada are set to take effect, while duties on Chinese goods will be increased by 10%. Both Canada and Mexico have previously prepared retaliatory measures, but neither country has said if they will activate those plans. China, which responded to an initial tariff by cracking down on U.S. firms, has said it will retaliate.
Last week, Trump said tariffs on imported goods from the European Union are coming “very soon.” Reciprocal tariffs are expected to land on his desk as soon as April 1.
Buffett, the 94-year-old “Oracle of Omaha,” had criticized Trump’s trade policies throughout his first term in office. In 2016, he said tariffs could “cut down on trade dramatically” between countries, repeating that warning in a 2019 interview where he forecasted that a trade war “would be bad for the whole world.”
“Well, I think that’s the most interesting subject in the world, but I won’t talk, I can’t talk about it, though. I really can’t,” Buffett told CBS when asked about the state of the economy.
His Berkshire Hathaway sold more than $134 billion worth of stocks last year, including shares of Apple (AAPL-0.65%) and Bank of America (BAC-0.59%), its largest equity holdings. In a letter to shareholders, Buffett said that most of his investors’ money would always be invested in equities, mainly of American companies.
“A majority of any money I manage will always be in the United States,” Buffett told CBS. “It’s the best place. I was lucky to be born here.