FOREIGN POLICY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said the U.S. is ‘open for business’ and asserted the nation’s interest in partnering with other nations, in an address Friday [1-26-18] to foreign leaders and business executives gathered at the World Economic Forum.
‘I am here today to represent the interests of the American people, and to affirm America’s friendship and partnership in building a better world,’ Mr. Trump told a packed hall of about 1,600 attendees. He touted the U.S. economy and said there ‘has never been a better time’ for business to invest in the country…
Over the past year, he said, his administration has cut 22 ‘burdensome regulations for every one new rule.’
Mr. Trump and his ‘America First’ message have evoked skepticism among many at the annual conference, which offers world leaders and wealthy executives the opportunity to hobnob—a practice the president decried during his 2016 campaign.
But while touting successes back home, Mr. Trump also sought to emphasize the country’s role as a partner for other nations. ‘As president of the United States, I will always put America first. But *America First* does not mean America alone,’ he said.
Mr. Trump also issued a call to other world leaders to work with the U.S. to combat Islamic State and the nuclear threat in North Korea. And he echoed previous calls for ‘fair trade,’ vowing the U.S. would ‘no longer turn a blind eye to unfair economic practices.’ “
-Rebecca Ballhaus, “Trump Promotes the U.S. as ‘Open for Business’ in Davos Speech,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 26, 2018 10:21am