Bourkoff observed Israeli-grown fruit in Dubai markets as tangible evidence of Abraham Accords progress.
“I saw fruit in a market in Dubai that was grown in Israel. Sometimes progress looks like a grapefruit.”
Rowan grades the U.S. economy an A for capital allocation but a C for understanding trade's impact on labor.
“give us an a as an economy for allocation of capital and construction of assets, and give us a c for understanding trade and its impact on labor.”
Rowan argues the U.S. cannot be a low-cost manufacturing center without massive immigration.
“To the extent we do not want massive amounts of immigration, we are not going to be the low cost manufacturing center for low value goods.”
Rowan says the U.S. won't manufacture low-value goods like sneakers given 4% unemployment and other priorities.
“we are not going to make sneakers in The US. We have 4% unemployment. We're building all these other things.”
Rowan argues US and Mexico should dominate economically for fifty years with US manufacturing and Mexico as workshop.
“The US and Mexico should be positioned to dominate the economic landscape for the next fifty years. US advanced manufacturing, Mexico the workshop, and so on and so on.”
Rowan warns tariff strategy increases risk of financial accident and damages long-term US brand.
“Longer term brand, that's the risk, and the propensity for a financial accident has definitely gone up, but we just don't know yet.”
Rowan reports a Mexican industrialist told him they would accept tariffs to make Mexico great again.
“As one leading Mexican industrialist said to me, if it takes tariffs to make Mexico great again, so be it.”
“US and Mexico together should be the driving economic force in the world for the next fifty years.”
Rowan warns the tariff approach has damaged the US brand for stability and predictability, with long-term costs.
“Longer term, the way we've done this, we have done damage to The US brand. The brand for stability, for predictability, for regularity. That will eventually have some cost to us.”