MEXICO CITY — MEXICO CITY (AP) — Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man and one of the world’s wealthiest, addressed a range of topics at his annual conference on Monday. Despite his extensive holdings in sectors ranging from communications and construction to an iconic Mexican restaurant and retail chain, much of the questioning centered — perhaps unsurprisingly — on U.S. President Donald Trump.
Here are some highlights of Slim’s address at the headquarters of one of his companies in Mexico City.
“There’s a lot to do. He only has four years,” Slim said about Trump’s second term.
Slim met Trump during his first term while negotiating the free trade agreement, describing him then as a “negotiator, not a terminator.” Now, weeks into Trump’s second term, Slim only commented that the situation Trump faces is complicated.
“What the U.S. has to do is regain global leadership,” he said.
“It would be interesting if he did a sort of double play, let’s say on one side reduce the costs of certain things and on the other channel it toward investment.”
Slim said bluntly that tariffs don’t work. “They increase inflation … the interest rate doesn’t go down … tariffs don’t solve problems.”
He said Trump’s tariff threats are simply a negotiating tool.
Slim said the 25% tariffs announced Monday by Trump on all steel and aluminum products wouldn’t have much impact on Mexico, because some Mexican steel producers also have U.S. operations.
Moreover, he said a general tariff on Mexican imports is unlikely, because Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Trump are following through on an agreemen