Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s comments at Davos on January 20th, 2026.
TRANSCRIPT
Howard Lutnick: Well, I think you should start at a much higher level, OK? We are in Davos, at the World Economic Forum. And the Trump administration and myself, we are here to make a very clear point: Globalization has failed the West and the United States of America.
It’s a failed policy. It is what the WEF has stood for, which is export, offshore, far-shore, find the cheapest labor in the world, and the world is a better place for it. The fact is, it has left America behind.
It has left the American workers behind. And what we are here to say is that America First is a different model, one that we encourage other countries to consider, which is that our workers come first. We can have policies that impact our workers.
Sovereignty is your borders. You’re entitled to have borders. You shouldn’t offshore your medicine.
You shouldn’t offshore your semiconductors. You shouldn’t offshore your entire industrial base and have it be hollowed out beneath you. You should not be dependent for that which is fundamental to your sovereignty on any other nation.
And if you’re going to be dependent on someone, it darn well better be your best allies. And so, that is a different way of thinking. It is completely different than the WEF.
I viewed the WEF as not a flagpole in the middle, but in fact, they are the flag. Whichever way the wind blew, so it blew: You should have solar. You should have wind.
Why are you going to do solar and wind? Why would Europe agree to be Net zero in 2030, when they don’t make a battery? They don’t make a battery!
So if they go 2030, they are deciding to be subservient to China, who makes the batteries.