Donald Trump was in the snows of Iowa for the US state’s Republican primary on Monday, rather than snowy Davos. But the former president’s name resounded all week through the corridors and coffee bars of the Swiss resort. US executives at the global confab sounded notably more sanguine than foreign business people and political leaders about his potential return. With Trump already closing in on the Republican nomination after his Iowa victory, however, US businesses should be as concerned as non-US counterparts about what this could mean for them, and for the world.US businesses have reason, for now, to project calm. They liked the tax cuts in Trump’s first term, which they expect he would extend in a second. Despite his protectionism, the US economy performed well; stock prices rose. Many US executives are hopeful that the day-to-day running of the economy and business under a Trump 2.0 could be largely ringfenced from shenanigans in the White House, as last time round. And they see no reason to antagonise a man they might soon have to work with again.
唐納•川普(Donald Trump)上週一在大雪覆蓋的艾奧瓦州參加該州的共和黨初選，而沒有去同樣大雪覆蓋的達佛斯。但這位前總統的名字整個一週都在這個瑞士度假勝地的走廊和咖啡廳裏迴響。對於他重返白宮的前景，參加世界經濟論壇的美國高階主管明顯比外國商界人士和政治領導人更加樂觀。然而，隨著川普在拿下艾奧瓦州後已經接近獲得共和黨總統候選人提名，美國企業應該像海外同僚一樣擔心這對他們——乃至世界——意味著什麼。