Billionaire investor Ray Dalio welcomed President Donald Trump’s decision to pause country specific tariffs temporarily, calling it a “step back from a worse way” of addressing America’s trade imbalances. The Bridgewater Associates founder is now encouraging Trump to negotiate with China rather than proceeding with the announced 104% tariffs on Chinese imports.
In a post on X Wednesday evening, Dalio said the pause created “a great time for all involved to reconsider their approaches” to rebalancing U.S. trade relationships. While acknowledging America faces trade “problems,” he advocated for negotiation over punitive measures.
“There are better and worse ways of handling our problems with unsustainable debt and imbalances, and President Trump’s decision to step back from a worse way and negotiate how to deal with these imbalances is a much better way,” Dalio wrote.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on implementing country-specific tariffs, with the notable exception of the 104% duties targeted at Chinese imports.
Dalio outlined what he believes would be a constructive approach with China: “I hope and expect that he will do the same with the Chinese, which I believe includes negotiating a deal that appreciates the RMB against the dollar, achieved by the Chinese selling dollar assets while also easing their fiscal and monetary policies to stimulate their demand. This would be a win-win.”
Dalio has consistently warned about America’s growing debt burden. he described a “very severe supply-demand problem” regarding U.S. debt, arguing that America is trying to “sell a quantity of debt that the world is not going to want to buy.”
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