U.S. econ team: “America First is not America alone”

Contingent hopes to reset global opinion about Trump in Davos

Trump administration arrived in the Swiss ski town of Davos on Wednesday with a clear message for world leaders and executives: “America First” doesn’t mean America alone. President Donald Trump, accompanied by 10 Cabinet secretaries and top advisers, is fighting back at the global perception that the United States is anti-globalization and against free trade.

“This is about an America First agenda, but America First does mean working with the rest of the world,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a press conference Wednesday morning.

Gary Cohn, the head of Trump’s National Economic Council, put it this way: “America First is not America alone.”

The Trump team has come to Davos to take a victory lap after passage of a major reduction in U.S. taxes and a rollback in regulations. They see this as a prime opportunity for Trump to be a great salesman of how well the country is doing economically and how foreign businesses should invest more in the United States. They point to the record highs in the stock market and growth topping 3 percent in the past two quarters as evidence that Trump’s policies are working for America and the world.

“We are committed to economic growth of 3 percent or higher GDP. Economic growth in the U.S. is obviously good for the rest of the world,” Mnuchin said. “There’s no question ... the vote from the market is very positive.”

Resetting the world’s perception of Trump is likely to be difficult. Thousands of protesters gathered in Zurich, the closest major town to Davos, saying “Trump not welcome.” Protesters also are attempting to get into the heavily guarded conference in Davos.

Even other world leaders have openly made jabs at Trump. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t mention the United States by name, but his lengthy defense of globalization was widely seen as a message directed at Trump.

“The forces of protectionism are raising their heads against globalization,” Modi said Tuesday. “Their desire is to not only save themselves from globalization, but to reverse the natural flow of globalization altogether.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went even further. He opened his speech Tuesday by announcing Canada had finalized a major trade deal with 10 Asia-Pacific countries. The agreement Canada forged was a revised version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that Trump pulled out of a year ago.

“Today is a great day for Canada, but it is also a great day for progressive trade around the world,” Trudeau said before adding that he was “working hard” to make sure Canada’s “neighbor to the South” understands the benefits of free trade, including the North America Free Trade Agreement.

Trump says he is open to path to citizenship for some “Dreamers” in immigration deal.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is open to a path to citizenship for some younger undocumented immigrants in an immigration deal being negotiated by Congress, provided he gets billions of dollars for a border wall and other security upgrades.

The president said his plan, to be released Monday, would grant the 690,000 immigrants covered by an Obama-era deferred action program Trump terminated last fall provisional legal status. That group would then be eligible to pursue full citizenship over a period of 10 to 12 years, Trump told reporters during an impromptu discussion at the White House.

Trump also intends to ask for $25 billion for a border wall and said he wanted $5 billion for additional border security, although it was unclear if that money was separate from the wall funding. The White House also will continue to push for cuts to legal immigration, including an end to a diversity visa lottery.

Trump joked to Chief of Staff John Kelly that he hoped to have a deal by the time he got back from a two day trip to Davos, Switzerland.