Nearly 70 percent of CEOs disapprove of Trump’s tariffs: Survey

A large swath of chief executives in the U.S. shares a lack of support for President Trump’s latest tariffs and believe they will hurt their company, according to a recent survey.

The poll, conducted by Chief Executive magazine, found that 67 of those surveyed did not agree with the president’s tariff agenda and 76 percent believe the sweeping import taxes will hurt their companies

According to the outlet, the results also show the lowest confidence in the business market since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represents “poor” and 10 means “excellent,” the more tan 300 participants ranked the current business climate at 4.6, down from 5.0 in March.

“Tariffs and the uncertainty of next steps that will be taken by President Trump will lead to very difficult economic times over the next year or two,” Mitchell Metal Products President and CEO Tim Zimmerman told the magazine.

Donald H. Lloyd II, president and CEO of St. Claire HealthCare, added, “This uncertainty needs to stop.”

“I support tariffs but believe they need to be applied strategically, not globally,” he told the outlet.

The survey was conducted from April 8-10 with 329 chief executives in the U.S. A margin of error was not provided.