close video Trump trade deal would do a lot to calm the market, says Bank of America CEO
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan evaluates the state of the U.S. economy, trade and tariffs on Special Report.’
The White House has been working to secure numerous trade deals during President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause, but the overall tariff tussle has caused an increase in U.S. market volatility. One leading U.S. bank CEO argued that a "blueprint" deal could do a lot to "calm the market down."
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration now has "18 proposals on paper" for trade deals, but there is still much anticipation around when a deal will actually happen. A trade deal announcement would accomplish two key objectives for Trump, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told Fox News.
"One is it [a trade deal] would give them [Trump administration] a blueprint… Second, it would show that deals can be done," Moynihan said on "Special Report" Thursday.
"If the rumors are true that certain countries are closer, and there'll be something, I think that'll do a lot to calm the market down because they'll say there is a way to get this resolved."
WHITE HOUSE SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS 18 TRADE PROPOSALS ‘ON PAPER’ close video Trump has been ‘lined up from morning to night’ with trade meetings, National Economic Council director reveals
National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett shares the ‘bottom line’ in President Donald Trump’s series of trade deals and meeting with China on ‘Kudlow.’
Trump's tariff policies have sent shockwaves through the U.S. economy and global trade. The president put a 90-day pause on reciprocal, "Liberation Day" tariffs he had imposed on dozens of nations, excluding China. This pause was an abrupt change of course after saying there would not be a pause to the tariffs, just negotiations.
Conversely, the Trump administration has upped the ante on its tariff on China to 145%.
Now, the administration, including Trump, is diving into negotiations with foreign nations to strike deals that are beneficial to the U.S. and lower the country's chronic trade deficit.
The uncertainty around tariffs and the Trump trade deals has caused some economists to lower growth assumptions, but Moynihan argued the U.S. economy is still in "reasonable shape."
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE close video White House has ’18 proposals on paper’ for trade deals
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration now has “18 proposals on paper” for trade deals.
Moynihan reaffirmed that Bank of America's research team does not see a recession on the horizon, but they do see the economy "slowing a lot."
"They see the economy slowing a lot, and that's where we gotta be careful. They still see positive growth, but you go from a 3% growth rate in the third quarter of '24 to under 1% growth in this quarter… That's a big slowdown in a big economy," he told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier.
While the Trump administration has boasted its transparency on policy issues, Moynihan argued Americans can't "reconcile how they all work together, and until that sorts out, they're a little bit worried."
Fox Business' Greg Norman and Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.