Transcript - Remarks: Donald Trump Has Dinner With European Business Leaders at Davos - January 25, 2018 | Factba.se

Donald Trump

00:00:00 - 00:00:25 (25 sec)

Well, I just want to thank everybody. The receptivity that we've had and the United States has had being here has been incredible. Sitting around this table are some of the greatest business leaders in the world, some of the greatest companies in the world. Probably, I can think of no other place or time where you'll have executives of this stature.

Donald Trump

00:00:25 - 00:00:48 (23 sec)

And I thought what I'd do is, first of all, I want to thank the professor for having done a fantastic job. Klaus, thank you very much. You have really done outstandingly. And putting this together at this level over many years has been a great tribute to you and your entire group and your entire family. So thank you very much. It's an honor to be here representing the United States.

Klaus Schwab

00:00:48 - 00:00:51 (3 sec)

Thank you, Mr. President.

Donald Trump

00:00:51 - 00:01:09 (19 sec)

I just want to say that there's been a lot of warmth, a lot of respect for our country. And a lot of money -- billions and billions of dollars -- is coming into the U.S. And people are very happy with what we've done, not only on the tax bill, but also cutting of regulations, and I think also being a cheerleader for our country.

Donald Trump

00:01:09 - 00:01:18 (9 sec)

ou know, if you're not a cheerleader for your company or for your country, no matter what happens, it's not going to work. And that's what I've been and that's what my whole group has been.

Donald Trump

00:01:18 - 00:01:30 (12 sec)

So perhaps I'll start on my left and you can go around. And here's one of the very big, powerful businesspeople of the world. And just say a few words about your company and whatever you'd like to do. Go ahead.

Joe Kaeser

00:01:30 - 00:01:51 (21 sec)

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for inviting me today. Obviously, I work for Siemens. We've got 56,000 people working in the United States; $34 billion revenues. [Inaudible] So, congratulations on your tax reform. You said this is what you're going to do. [Inaudible]

Donald Trump

00:01:51 - 00:02:00 (9 sec)

We said it. And, by the way, when he says he works for Siemens, he's the president of Siemens, but that's okay. [Laughter] It's a good way of saying it. But go ahead.

Joe Kaeser

00:02:00 - 00:02:01 (1 sec)

But don't you work for your country?

Donald Trump

00:02:01 - 00:02:07 (5 sec)

Yeah, we work for our country. That's right. [Laughter] Same thing. And Siemens is doing good?

Joe Kaeser

00:02:07 - 00:02:19 (12 sec)

We're doing really well. As a matter of fact, we've been investing quite a lot into the country. And since you have been successful with tax reform, we decided to develop next-generation gas turbines in the United States.

Donald Trump

00:02:19 - 00:02:23 (4 sec)

Oh, that's a big thing. That's very big. That's fantastic.

Joe Kaeser

00:02:23 - 00:02:24 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:02:24 - 00:02:25 (1 sec)

Where will that be developed?

Joe Kaeser

00:02:25 - 00:02:26 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:02:26 - 00:02:33 (7 sec)

Oh, Charlotte is great. That's fantastic. Well, thank you. On behalf of Charlotte, thank you very much -- and our country.

Joe Kaeser

00:02:33 - 00:02:35 (2 sec)

Our pleasure. Thank you.

Punit Renjen

00:02:35 - 00:02:46 (10 sec)

Mr. President, thank you for having me. Punit Renjen from Deloitte. On behalf of 265,000 employees across the globe, 70,000 in the U.S., thank you again for having us.

Donald Trump

00:02:46 - 00:02:48 (2 sec)

Great company. Thank you very much. Great job.

Punit Renjen

00:02:48 - 00:02:48 (1 sec)

Mark Schneider

00:02:48 - 00:03:13 (25 sec)

Mr. President, thank you for the invitation. Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestle. Nestle was co-founded -- this is something that few people know -- by American brothers who moved to Switzerland after the Civil War. Today, we employ 50,000 people in the United States. We operate 77 plants. Almost everything we sell is locally made. We offer 10 R&D centers, and we're excited about what's going in the U.S. market.

Donald Trump

00:03:13 - 00:03:22 (9 sec)

And people think of Nestle for candy, but I read the other day that's actually only 3 percent of your company. So what is your primary product now?

Mark Schneider

00:03:22 - 00:03:26 (4 sec)

Coffee, infant nutrition, water, pet food. Those are the [Inaudible].

Donald Trump

00:03:26 - 00:03:31 (5 sec)

Yes. Fantastic job you've done. Thank you very much. Professor.

Klaus Schwab

00:03:31 - 00:03:58 (26 sec)

Yes. Well, [Inaudible] fully engaged also in the United States. But what you probably do not know, one of [Inaudible] staff is working in the [Inaudible] -- 800 people. But tiny compared to you. But one of the staff is working in New York and in our Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco.

Donald Trump

00:03:58 - 00:04:01 (4 sec)

That's very good. Has this been a very successful one, right here, now?

Klaus Schwab

00:04:01 - 00:04:02 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:04:02 - 00:04:08 (6 sec)

Has it all gone very well? Because it seems to really be going smoothly. A lot of really good relationships.

Klaus Schwab

00:04:08 - 00:04:45 (37 sec)

Yeah. And even more what I mentioned before, Mr. President -- the World Economic Forum is a very business-driven approach to global cooperation. And I think many of the issues can be much faster and much more efficient if business is involved. So that's what we are doing -- creating coalitions between governments, business, and, to a certain extent, also the young generation, to make sure that we really have a pragmatic approach in global governance.

Donald Trump

00:04:45 - 00:04:48 (4 sec)

Well, we're honored to be here and be with you. Thank you for this.

Rajeev Suri

00:04:48 - 00:05:30 (42 sec)

Good evening, Mr. President. I'm Rajeev Suri from Nokia. We're the leading networks -- telecom networks company in the world, number two. We have 15,000 people in the U.S., and it's one of our strongest R&D setups in the world, spread throughout the U.S. We have half of the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent. We own Nokia Bell Labs, which is in New Jersey. We do a lot of stuff in the West Coast, in Chicago, and throughout the country, really. So just under half of our people do research and development, and the rest are doing services and 4G networks and 5G. So I'm very happy and pleased with your infrastructure focus, and [Inaudible].

Donald Trump

00:05:30 - 00:05:33 (3 sec)

Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Martian Lundsted

00:05:33 - 00:05:39 (6 sec)

So, thank you, Mr. President, for inviting all of us. My name is Martian Lundstedt; I'm the president of the Volvo group.

Donald Trump

00:05:39 - 00:05:40 (1 sec)

Martian Lundsted

00:05:40 - 00:05:43 (4 sec)

Yeah. And among other things, we are the proud owners of Mack trucks.

Donald Trump

00:05:43 - 00:05:47 (4 sec)

That's right. Which are 100 percent made in the U.S.

Martian Lundsted

00:05:47 - 00:06:12 (25 sec)

Absolutely. And Volvo trucks [Inaudible] North America is 100 percent made in the United States, as well as our construction equipment in Pennsylvania; as a matter of fact, in Allentown and Shippensburg and in Middletown, and New River Valley in Virginia. So we are primarily focused on the East Coast. We are just now running the biggest investment program in our company's history, in the United States, for R&D

Donald Trump

00:06:12 - 00:06:14 (1 sec)

How much with you will be investing?

Martian Lundsted

00:06:14 - 00:06:29 (15 sec)

For the time being, just north of 2 billion U.S. dollars into -- in that specific program. But we have a big [Inaudible] -- very, very good [Inaudible] infrastructure and transportation.

Donald Trump

00:06:29 - 00:06:44 (15 sec)

That's great. Absolutely. Well, we're going to be doing a lot of that. I asked the question before, when I heard Volvo, and I know they own Mack truck -- I said, what's the difference in price between a Mack and a Volvo comparable truck? And you said --

Martian Lundsted

00:06:44 - 00:06:48 (4 sec)

I said, [Inaudible] very strong [Inaudible]. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:06:48 - 00:07:01 (14 sec)

He said they're both great, but a Mack is about 15 percent more. [Laughter] That was very good. Thank you very much for that investment in the U.S. $2 billion is great. Thank you very much.

Kasper Rorsted

00:07:01 - 00:07:05 (4 sec)

Mr. President, thank you for the invitation. I represent the Adidas team.

Donald Trump

00:07:05 - 00:07:06 (1 sec)

Kasper Rorsted

00:07:06 - 00:07:25 (19 sec)

America is our single biggest country, and we [Inaudible] 30 percent in the U.S. And some of the most famous creators of our products are coming out of the U.S., starting with Stan Smith in the seventies; Kanye West, probably one of the most [Inaudible] shoes in the world. And we just opened a fully automated shoe and [Inaudible] plant in the state of Georgia and Atlanta.

Donald Trump

00:07:25 - 00:07:27 (2 sec)

That's fantastic. Great job.

Werner Baumann

00:07:27 - 00:07:51 (23 sec)

Hello, I'm Werner Baumann, and I'm the CEO of Bayer. That's a company that, in the future, it will be known as the company that is formally the aspirin company. So we are working heavily on [Inaudible], national icon in the U.S., making good progress. And hope to close this transaction in early 2018, so it should be a minute.

Donald Trump

00:07:51 - 00:07:54 (4 sec)

So what percentage of your company is the aspirin?

Werner Baumann

00:07:54 - 00:08:01 (7 sec)

Aspirin is a 1.1 billion euro, so $1.4 billion.

Donald Trump

00:08:01 - 00:08:03 (2 sec)

So that's a pretty small percentage.

Werner Baumann

00:08:03 - 00:08:12 (8 sec)

It's relatively small, but it's one of the few brands that has been growing for 120 years. It's very profitable. And I think you take it as well. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:08:12 - 00:08:29 (17 sec)

I do. I take one a day. [Laughter] I generally -- I should say, I only take Bayer. [Laughter] One aspirin a day. So far, it's been working. But it's a great company. So are you going to be investing in the U.S.?

Werner Baumann

00:08:29 - 00:08:39 (10 sec)

Yes, we are. We will actually consolidate most of our activities also into [Inaudible] headquarters in St. Louis. We're going to invest about $16 billion, if you look at --

Donald Trump

00:08:39 - 00:08:41 (2 sec)

$16 billion, wow.

Werner Baumann

00:08:41 - 00:08:51 (10 sec)

[Inaudible] R&D investment in crop alone. And 60 percent out of that is going to be in the U.S. over the next six years.

Donald Trump

00:08:51 - 00:08:53 (2 sec)

Thank you very much. That's really great. Thank you.

Mark Tucker

00:08:53 - 00:09:01 (7 sec)

My name is Mark Tucker from HSBC. HSBC, you know well.

Donald Trump

00:09:01 - 00:09:01 (1 sec)

Mark Tucker

00:09:01 - 00:09:14 (13 sec)

Our business in the U.S. began in 1865. And we're the largest foreign bank in the U.S. We had a business -- we have a balance sheet of $2.6 trillion.

Donald Trump

00:09:14 - 00:09:16 (1 sec)

Mark Tucker

00:09:16 - 00:09:31 (15 sec)

We work in 70 countries, and we have a market capital of around $250 billion. The commitment to the U.S. -- we have a very strong business here, and a business that will continue to grow.

Donald Trump

00:09:31 - 00:09:46 (15 sec)

And you founded one of the most successful businesses in China. That is a big statement. You did a great job. So it's a great honor to have you. Thank you very much. It's a fantastic job you've done. I know all about you. I know everything about you. [Laughter] Thank you.

Mark Tucker

00:09:46 - 00:09:49 (3 sec)

That's dangerous, Mr. President. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:09:49 - 00:09:52 (3 sec)

I know. You people have done what you've done. Congratulations.

Patrick Pouyanne

00:09:52 - 00:10:17 (25 sec)

I'm Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of Total, which is an oil and gas company, the fourth largest in the world. Out of 50 countries, we are in the U.S. -- 7,000 people. We do almost everything in your country. We produce oil, we explore. We are just making a big discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, oil discovery. We produce gas in Texas. We are investing in an energy plant in Louisiana to export gas from the U.S.

Patrick Pouyanne

00:10:17 - 00:10:33 (16 sec)

What else -- we are just deciding to invest $3 billion in petrochemicals in Texas. A big [Inaudible], a big plant, creating 1,500 jobs. We have 7,000 people in your country and in 23 states.

Donald Trump

00:10:33 - 00:10:34 (1 sec)

So you're fourth in the world.

Patrick Pouyanne

00:10:34 - 00:11:06 (32 sec)

Yeah, we are fourth largest in the world, and third by reserves -- more than 10 billion barrel reserves. [Inaudible] we invest around $15 billion each year, and at least $1 billion as an average in the U.S. And, of course, for us -- U.S. [Inaudible] gas revolution, [Inaudible] revolution. [Inaudible] -- lost-cost energy, lost-cost [Inaudible]. So we come, and even we will do more with your tax reform.

Donald Trump

00:11:06 - 00:11:08 (1 sec)

It's a great company.

Patrick Pouyanne

00:11:08 - 00:11:29 (21 sec)

And we are also invested in renewables. Maybe you disagree, but in solar business, in a U.S. company. We are [Inaudible] solar power, California company, high-tech company. And so we are heavily invested in -- we've invested more than $2 billion in that company to develop solar in the U.S.

Donald Trump

00:11:29 - 00:11:39 (10 sec)

And we'll rebuild that business. That whole thing is going to get rebuilt now, the solar panels. And you'll see a big difference. But that's very good. So from the U.S. standpoint, you're very happy about it?

Patrick Pouyanne

00:11:39 - 00:11:43 (5 sec)

Yes, I'm happy. To be honest, for some [Inaudible], there is competition with [Inaudible].

Donald Trump

00:11:43 - 00:11:44 (1 sec)

You have competition?

Patrick Pouyanne

00:11:44 - 00:11:47 (2 sec)

Yes. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:11:47 - 00:11:50 (3 sec)

That's what we wanted. [Laughter] No, but you've done a great job. Thank you.

Patrick Pouyanne

00:11:50 - 00:11:52 (2 sec)

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President.

Donald Trump

00:11:52 - 00:11:53 (1 sec)

Heinrich Hiesinger

00:11:53 - 00:12:08 (15 sec)

Mr. President, thank you for the invitation. Heinrich Hiesinger, CEO of Thyssenkrupp. We are strongly localized in the U.S. in elevator engineer automotive. Eighty percent is already localized. Very proud that we have all the elevators in the Freedom Tower --

Donald Trump

00:12:08 - 00:12:08 (0 sec)

Heinrich Hiesinger

00:12:08 - 00:12:18 (10 sec)

-- which is, for our people, our big pride. They worked six years on that one. And our other thing is, we have 3,000 apprenticeships for young people each and every year.

Donald Trump

00:12:18 - 00:12:21 (3 sec)

So, Otis compared to the size of what you do, where are you --

Heinrich Hiesinger

00:12:21 - 00:12:22 (1 sec)

We are quite similar in size.

Donald Trump

00:12:22 - 00:12:23 (1 sec)

It's a great company.

Heinrich Hiesinger

00:12:23 - 00:12:28 (5 sec)

We are heading to one to one, because years ago we have acquired Dover, and this made us quite stronger.

Donald Trump

00:12:28 - 00:12:34 (6 sec)

Great. That's good. Great product. I've used your product, as you know. Great product. Thank you very much.

Eldar Saetre

00:12:34 - 00:13:05 (31 sec)

So, thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for the invitation. It's an honor. My name is Eldar Saetre. I'm the CEO of Statoil -- [Inaudible] oil and gas coming from Norway -- Norwegian, Norway. We've been present in the U.S. for 30 years now. Substantial investment over the years. So we're engaged both in the onshore, the offshore, trading, extensive trading business, and also renewables. Primarily in solar, but offshore wind, actually.

Eldar Saetre

00:13:05 - 00:13:38 (33 sec)

So quite sizeable business, not as big as Total yet, but we're working on it. So we are growing and increasing our production in three areas onshore; increasing to eight fields offshore; 300,000-plus barrels a day. [Inaudible] around 400,000. So it's our second biggest location outside of the Norwegian [Inaudible]. So we are growing in terms of production, and obviously also in terms of investment.

Eldar Saetre

00:13:38 - 00:13:48 (10 sec)

So I would like to congratulate you on the tax reform. I think that is really good news, I guess, for all of us here, but also for the oil and gas, and our industry.

Donald Trump

00:13:48 - 00:13:51 (3 sec)

Good news for a lot of people.

Eldar Saetre

00:13:51 - 00:13:59 (8 sec)

Oil and gas is also a heavily regulated business. So your thinking and your actions on what you're doing on regulations is good news.

Donald Trump

00:13:59 - 00:14:06 (7 sec)

We're opening it up, and we're becoming energy self-sufficient very rapidly. We really, just about are hitting that mark.

Donald Trump

00:14:06 - 00:14:22 (16 sec)

And as you know, we're opening up a lot of different places in the U.S., including the plants that you're building. A lot of places are opening that would never even have -- they wouldn't have even conceived of them. So a lot of things are happening. Thank you. Great job you've done. Thank you very much.

Vasant Narasimhan

00:14:22 - 00:14:33 (11 sec)

Mr. President, thank you very much for the honor of being here. I'm the CEO of Novartis. We're one of the largest healthcare companies in the world. We focus on innovative medicines, generics, as well as eye care.

Vasant Narasimhan

00:14:33 - 00:15:00 (27 sec)

Today, we have about 22,000 employees in the U.S. across 21 sites. We invest about $14 billion every year into the United States, including $3.5 billion in research. It's one of our key, obviously, markets, but also key places where we drive innovation. And we're really pleased with the tax reform, but also very pleased with the great progress being made at FDA. We believe you have a great leadership team there and they're doing all the right things to accelerate innovation.

Donald Trump

00:15:00 - 00:15:11 (11 sec)

Scott is great, and Alex is great. You know, Alex is just starting, and he's highly respected. So that's fantastic. Scott Gottlieb, as you know, is a star.

Vasant Narasimhan

00:15:11 - 00:15:19 (7 sec)

He is a star. And I think his vision for tobacco and trying to improve -- reduce the use of tobacco around the world is also very inspiring.

Donald Trump

00:15:19 - 00:15:20 (2 sec)

That's very good. Thank you very much.

Ulrich Spiesshofer

00:15:20 - 00:15:55 (35 sec)

Mr. President, thank you very much for having me tonight. I serve the people of ABB. We have business in more than 100 countries of the world, but we have made, the last eight years, the U.S. an investment focus. We have deployed $13 billion of capital, and bought some iconic brands in the U.S., like Baldor in Fort Smith, Arkansas, a motor company. And we are just now in the process of closing the transaction to acquire GE Industrial Solutions, a fantastic business, in terms of install base. It needs a little bit of investment, in terms of technology and --

Donald Trump

00:15:55 - 00:15:56 (2 sec)

Did you get a good price? Did you get a good price?

Ulrich Spiesshofer

00:15:56 - 00:15:58 (1 sec)

I got a good price, yeah.

Donald Trump

00:15:58 - 00:16:04 (6 sec)

I know you got a -- you always get a good price. [Laughter] I know who I deal with. He always gets a good price. That's good.

Ulrich Spiesshofer

00:16:04 - 00:16:35 (31 sec)

Altogether -- so we have today now, including the [Inaudible] have 26,000 people in the U.S., in more than 60 sites, nicely spread over all the U.S. We have the classic copper and iron activities, the motors. And just last week, we [Inaudible] the entire executive committee team time in Silicon Valley, because there we have an AI and robotics center that we firmly intend to grow further and invest significantly to support the U.S. in the next level of industrialization.

Donald Trump

00:16:35 - 00:16:38 (3 sec)

One year write-off. Big difference, right?

Ulrich Spiesshofer

00:16:38 - 00:16:38 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:16:38 - 00:16:41 (3 sec)

That's probably the biggest sleeper in the whole tax bill.

Ulrich Spiesshofer

00:16:41 - 00:16:42 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:16:42 - 00:16:45 (3 sec)

Thank you. Great job. Good luck with the GE purchase. Well done.

Ulrich Spiesshofer

00:16:45 - 00:16:46 (1 sec)

Thank you. We need that.

Donald Trump

00:16:46 - 00:16:50 (4 sec)

Sounds good. You'll be just fine. [Laughter] Go ahead.

Carlos Brito

00:16:50 - 00:16:56 (6 sec)

Mr. President, thank you very much for the invitation. I'm the CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev, a beer company.

Donald Trump

00:16:56 - 00:16:57 (2 sec)

Yes. Anheuser-Busch.

Carlos Brito

00:16:57 - 00:17:05 (8 sec)

We have [Inaudible] more than 50 countries around the world. We sell beer in more than 100 countries. Our number one local beer brand is Budweiser, out of St. Louis.

Donald Trump

00:17:05 - 00:17:07 (2 sec)

Right. We know it well.

Carlos Brito

00:17:07 - 00:17:28 (21 sec)

We started there in 1852, and we've been in the beer business for more than 600 years. Our Belgian business dates back to 1366, our Belgian company. And our biggest market is the U.S., where we employ 18,000 people in more than 50 sites. And we've just announced last year a program through 2020 to build our investment and our facilities in the U.S.

Donald Trump

00:17:28 - 00:17:31 (4 sec)

That's fantastic. That's good. Thank you very much. That's fantastic. Thank you very much.

Carlos Brito

00:17:31 - 00:17:32 (1 sec)

Thank you, sir.

Bill McDermott

00:17:32 - 00:17:40 (8 sec)

Hey, Mr. President. I'd like to thank you, first of all, for having me, but also for spurring on all this growth because these are all my customers.

Donald Trump

00:17:40 - 00:17:41 (1 sec)

I know. [Laughter]

Bill McDermott

00:17:41 - 00:17:54 (13 sec)

I mean, it's kind of amazing to have all your customers talking about adding jobs and growing their business. And it's just a real tribute to the momentum that you've created in a global economy. So I thank you very much.

Bill McDermott

00:17:54 - 00:18:09 (15 sec)

SAP is the leading enterprise software company. We have 90,000 people around the world. In the United States, we're quickly approaching 25,000. It's the fastest-growing region in the world, especially in jobs.

Bill McDermott

00:18:09 - 00:18:19 (10 sec)

I'm very proud to share with you that, when you think about the Army and the Navy, and the missions they run to protect the world, they run on SAP.

Bill McDermott

00:18:19 - 00:18:35 (16 sec)

And when you think about the Vice President, in the state of Indiana, for example, solving infant mortality issues and things like that, we were working hand-in-glove with him there as well. So it's a real honor, and thank you for having me. And we look forward to helping in any way we can.

Donald Trump

00:18:35 - 00:18:42 (7 sec)

And you have done a really spectacular job. I guess pretty much everybody at this table is your customer, so that's not so bad.

Bill McDermott

00:18:42 - 00:18:43 (1 sec)

Exactly. Exactly.

Donald Trump

00:18:43 - 00:18:43 (1 sec)

I want to congratulate you --

Bill McDermott

00:18:43 - 00:18:48 (4 sec)

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:18:48 - 00:19:06 (19 sec)

I want to thank everybody. Really, you have done incredible work, incredible jobs. These are some of the great companies of the world, many of the great companies of the world. And congratulations. And now we'll talk. And thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.