Washington: US President Donald Trump will meet about 20 chief executives on Tuesday, including heads of General Motors Co., IBM Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., as he works to gain support for a $1 trillion infrastructure programme, tax reform and other administration priorities, a government official familiar with the matter said.
Trump has pledged to unlock $1 trillion in private and public infrastructure investments to fix bridges, improve the electrical grid and broadband internet, modernize airports and potentially rebuild hospitals for veterans. Nearly three months after his inauguration, Trump will again seek the advice and funds of the private sector for his “national rebuilding” programme.
Trump also wants to streamline the income tax system, cut federal regulations, reduce corporate income tax and add new taxes to prod companies to keep or move production to the US.
The chief executives are part of Trump’s “Strategy and Policy Forum” that was created in December and last met with the President on 3 February.
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The business leaders from a variety of sectors will also meet in small groups with transportation secretary Elaine Chao, Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, education secretary Betsy DeVos and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney.
Participants in Ross’ meeting include Wal-Mart chief executive officer (CEO) Doug McMillon and Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo Inc . Pruitt’s meeting will include GM CEO Mary Barra and Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomak Global Partners LLC and a Republican former SEC commissioner. Chao’s meeting will include Tesla Inc chief executive Elon Musk.
Fink, in a letter to shareholders on Monday, backed calls for private investment to rebuild US infrastructure. The Trump administration plans to unveil as soon as May, the $1 trillion infrastructure plan over 10 years.
“Fixing crumbling roads and bridges is not enough. We need to be focused on reshaping our world, not just repairing it,” Fink wrote.
Last week, Trump pitched infrastructure projects to about 50 New York area CEOs. National Economic Council director Gary Cohn told executives that privatizing air traffic control, which the administration proposed in its budget outline in March, could be a big boost. Reuters
