Berkshire’s Warren Buffett Says Trade Can Be An ‘Act Of War’

Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett addressed US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies at the company’s annual meeting in Omaha, saying trade “should not be a weapon.”

“You can make some very good arguments for the fact that balanced trade is good for the world,” Buffett said in response to a question about trade barriers. “There is no question that trade can be an act of war.”

He added that the US “should be looking to trade with the rest of the world.”

The conglomerate commented on tariffs in its first-quarter earnings statement, released ahead of the meeting on Saturday. Berkshire’s operating earnings fell about 14% from a year earlier, to $9.6 billion, while its cash pile surged to $347.7 billion, as the company struggled to invest it.

In the statement, Berkshire warned that the tariffs could negatively affect its vast portfolio of businesses. Berkshire’s results are closely watched because the conglomerate’s stable of businesses, ranging from insurance to rail, energy and manufacturing, provides a snapshot of the health of the US economy.

“We are currently unable to reliably predict the potential impact on our businesses, whether through changes in product costs, supply chain costs and efficiency, and customer demand for our products and services. It is reasonably possible there could be adverse consequences on most, if not all, of our operating businesses,” as well as its equity portfolio.

Although Buffett said he wouldn’t endorse any political candidate last year, that hasn’t prevented him from making sideways comments in the past, such as his comment in March calling tariffs “an act of war.”

Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements on April 2 convulsed equities markets and the business of investing. Tariffs are expected to result in higher costs of repair for auto insurers like Buffett’s Geico.