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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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Citi CEO Jane Fraser urged the Trump administration to provide greater clarity on the economic context for the United States to unlock more investment, as its tariff policy was plunged into chaos following a major court ruling, and the tax bill faces a battle in the Senate.
A federal trade court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his emergency powers when he applied many of his tariffs to America's trading partners worldwide, a decision his administration has immediately appealed.
The broad-ranging One Big Beautiful Bill Act of tax cuts and spending priorities squeaked through the House on the tightest of margins after intense Republican debates. GOP senators are now going through the same process, with similar divisions.
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"Look, clarity is really what's most important here, and they've been very clear that's it's going to take a bit of time for the tax bill to come through, the deregulation to get effected as well as changes, say, to the tariffs," Fraser told Fox Business's Mornings with Maria on Thursday.
"Once we've got that clarity, then I think companies will adapt and then they'll start making investments that will help drive growth forward, as well as we'll be doing our job to bring investment into America in line with what the administration is trying to achieve."
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'Too Early to Tell'
Fraser was also asked to respond to Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, who stated that he could see 4 percent growth for the U.S. economy in the second half of the year.
"I hope he's right. But it's too early to tell at the moment. We've got to see where things settle down," Fraser said, adding that there would be hard data in the summer.
The economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of the year as imports surged, with companies stockpiling in anticipation of Trump's tariffs. The impact of Trump's tariffs on the global economy, along with the uncertainty surrounding them, is weighing on growth.
However, he has paused his most punitive tariffs to give space for negotiations, and the administration has stated that many deals are imminent. It recently announced a trade agreement with the United Kingdom.
Fraser said that where tariffs land is particularly important, and noted a substantial difference between 10 percent and 25 percent for companies affected by the levy.
"One they can absorb, the other they probably have to spread around," she said.
Update 5/29/25, 11:29 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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