BUSINESS/ECONOMY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TAXES: “The tax overhaul that President Donald Trump signed into law last month capped a year in which his initiatives on taxes, regulation—and many of his public pronouncements on the economy—have been broadly welcomed by business…
In pure policy terms, however, business groups and executives say the $1.5 trillion of corporate-focused tax changes and the bevy of completed and proposed rule changes aimed at cutting regulatory burdens on business have made 2017 a net success for business… Heading into his second year, the president faces some significant decisions that could create tension with business on issues executives care about, such as trade, immigration and health care…
Trade presents some particularly difficult decisions. Nafta, and the president’s threat to pull the U.S. out of it, remains a concern both for U.S. companies that have grown up around the free trade it brought to the continent, and farmers who have taken advantage of markets in Mexico and Canada that the pact has opened for their exports…
Still, the companies are nervous about how his administration will ramp up pressure on Beijing. While American executives generally still favor intensified negotiations over trade sanctions, they worry that Trump aides will deploy tariffs, quotas and investment limits that could prompt swift retaliation, triggering a costly trade war.”
-Ted Mann, “For Businesses, Donald Trump’s First Year Is a Net Success,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 16, 2018 10:05am