The business world falls under Trump’s thumb

WASHINGTON: With his carrotand-stick manhandling of the US business community, Presidentelect Donald Trump has major companies falling over themselves to offer goodwill gestures and promises to create US jobs.

This aggressive strategy – in which Trump has publicly threatened major corporations over the use of foreign labour – has sent ripples through a country that reveres free enterprise and is not accustomed to seeing the nation’s chief executive go ‘mano a mano’ with individual businesses.

But the tactic is creating the appearance of success.

Automaker General Motors and the retail giant Wal-Mart Stores on Tuesday joined the growing list of companies that have promised to ramp investment and employment in the United States since Trump began his post-election campaign against off-shoring US jobs.

Trump has been quick to take credit for any job creation and new investments.

When NBC on Wednesday reported that many of the company announcements were ‘old news’ given a fresh coat of paint, Trump responded with an angry tweet, calling it ‘FAKE NEWS!’

Some firms may indeed have recycled investment plans long since announced or in the works, or emphasised job creation already scheduled.

But all were acting under pressure from a president-elect who has used his Twitter account to threaten companies with a border tax and other punishments, frequently causing their share prices tumble as a result.

“Car companies and others, if they want to do business in our country, have to start making things here again. WIN!” Trump said Sunday on Twitter.

Under the Trump spotlight, Ford this month ended plans to build a US$1.6 billion plant in Mexico and instead invest US$700 million in the United States, while Fiat Chrysler repatriated production of one model and announced the creation of 2,000 jobs. — AFP