Warren Buffett warns US-Sino trade war would be bad news for the whole world
Business mogul spoke after Trump announced stiffer tariffs on Chinese imports
New York — Warren Buffett said on Monday a trade war between the US and China would be “bad for the whole world”. Buffett spoke after US President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that he will raise tariffs on $200bn of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% beginning on Friday, and “shortly” slap a 25% tariff on $325bn of Chinese goods that have not been taxed. Major stock markets fell worldwide on Monday in response to Trump’s tweet, which was a “rational” response, Buffett said on CNBC television. His conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway owns or invests in many companies that do business in China, including Apple in which it has a more than $50bn stake. “If we actually have a trade war it will be bad for the whole world,” Buffett said. “With some people in negotiations, the best technique is to act half-crazy.” A full-scale trade war “would be bad for everything Berkshire owns”, Buffett added, though the probability it might happen is low. Buffett said tough talk ahead of negotiations was und...
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