Trump Meets CEOs On Infrastructure Plan

President Trump is scheduled to meet with some 20 chief executives, the White House said, in a bid to drum up support for various administration policies, including a $1 trillion dollar infrastructure program.

The executives Trump has plans to meet include heads of GM, IBM and Walmart, among a number of others. The chief executives are part of the President’s Strategy and Policy Forum created in December and last met with Trump in February.

Trump looks to unlock $1 trillion in private and public infrastructure investments in a national rebuilding bid. Trump is seeking funds from the private sector to go toward fixing bridges, improving broadband internet and the electrical grid as well as modernizing airports.

Other topics of discussion will likely include Trump’s goals to cut federal regulations and reduce corporate income tax while also adding taxes in a bid to change the face of domestic production.

Larry Fink, CEO of investment management firm BlackRock, wrote to support the infrastructure plan in a letter to shareholders: “Fixing crumbling roads and bridges is not enough. We need to be focused on reshaping our world, not just repairing it.”

While these executives seem keen to get behind a national renovation plan, retail CEOs have been less enthusiastic about another of President Trump’s goals. Back in February, retail industry executives met with Trump to discuss his proposed change to the border tax. The group was said to have included top brass from Best Buy, Gap and Target. In their meeting, the retail executives discussed the tax’s potential negative effects on consumer prices.

The proposed reworking of the corporate tax code has pit net importers against exporters. Supporters of the proposal say a 20 percent border-adjusted tax would boost domestic production. Opponents argue it will force companies to pass the increased cost to consumers.

“You’re a consumer: Are you ready to pay 20 to 25 percent more for everything you buy?” said Steve Lamar, executive vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, in the report. “Because almost everything you buy is imported.”