- Donald Trump said he would impose 10% to 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and China.
- Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman was a trade negotiator for Trump during his first term.
- In his book, he sheds light on what it took to get Trump, Trudeau, and others to the negotiating table.
Donald Trump has retaken the White House, and hefty trade taxes are back on the table, including tariffs of up to 25% on goods imported from Canada and Mexico and up to 10% on products from China.
In an effort to gain insight into how Trump’s tariff agenda might play out, Business Insider turned to Blackstone cofounder and CEO Steve Schwarzman, who served as a behind-the-scenes trade negotiator for the Trump White House during his first term. Schwarzman declined to comment for this article but described his experiences as a trade advisor during the first Trump White House in his 2019 book, “What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence,” published by Simon & Schuster.
In the book, he said he was tapped as a trade negotiator because he the trust of members of Trump’s inner circle and connections to foreign leaders like China’s Xi Jinping. Indeed, Schwarzman traveled to China eight times on behalf of the Trump administration, he said.
He described his meetings with Xi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help them understand Trump’s motivations, as well as his discussions with Trump on the dangers of taking on too many trade deals at once. He suggested a key to getting the various parties to the negotiating table, including Trump, involved stressing the political risks of not cutting a deal.
The billionaire businessman also described his experiences advising US Presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama. Schwarzman, a Republican, said he is open to helping any US president, regardless of party, if he thinks it will help his country.
“When you take up any challenge laid down in Washington, you can never be certain of the outcome,” he said. “But whether you succeed or fail, if the goal is to help your country, it is almost always worth doing.”
Schwarzman, who declined an official role with the first Trump White House, declined to comment on whether he has been asked to advise Trump in his second term in office.
Schwarzman’s relationship with Trump has had its ups and downs. After his book was published, the billionaire businessman distanced himself from Trump following the capitol riots in 2020, issuing a statement condemning the rioters and supporting the results of the election that removed Trump from office. During the Republican primaries for the 2024 election, the Blackstone CEO issued a statement suggesting he would not support Trump before ultimately backing him during the general election.
Here are the top stories from Schwarzman’s book about his years working as a business advisor to Donald Trump, as well as Presidents Barack Obama and George H. W. Bush. The excerpts below are pulled directly from his 2019 autobiography.
