Executive Order Directs Treasury and Commerce Departments
to Establish a Sovereign Wealth Fund
U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to establish a sovereign wealth fund. He also mentioned the possibility of using this fund to acquire TikTok, a Chinese-origin video-sharing platform.
On the 3rd (local time), President Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House directing the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department to establish a sovereign wealth fund.
President Trump said, "We will have a sovereign wealth fund like never before," adding, "As you have seen over the past two weeks, we have many things that create wealth." He continued, "Others, my predecessors, have reduced wealth," emphasizing, "We have created a lot of wealth."
He expressed his desire to "catch up" with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and claimed that the U.S. would have one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in a short period of time.
Earlier, President Trump had advocated for the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund since his presidential campaign. He proposed using the fund for national infrastructure projects such as highways, airports, manufacturing, and medical research. Although there was no mention of the funding source for the sovereign wealth fund on this day, President Trump had previously stated that tariffs would be used to finance it.
He also indicated that the U.S. government might use the sovereign wealth fund to acquire TikTok.
President Trump said, "We might do something with TikTok, or we might not," adding, "We could put it (TikTok) into the sovereign wealth fund or cooperate with other wealthy individuals. There are many options."
On his inauguration day, January 20, he signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the 'TikTok Ban Act' for 75 days. The TikTok Ban Act stipulates that if TikTok's parent company, China's ByteDance, does not sell its U.S. business rights, the service will be suspended in the U.S. At that time, he proposed that a U.S. company purchase 50% of TikTok's shares, and on this day, he mentioned the possibility of using the sovereign wealth fund to acquire TikTok.
Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, who attended the signing ceremony of the executive order, stated that the goal is to establish the sovereign wealth fund within the next 12 months. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said, "The enormous scale of the U.S. government and its business with companies must create value for Americans," expressing his intention to use the sovereign wealth fund to acquire shares in vaccine manufacturers.
Foreign media reported that since the U.S. federal government is in a fiscal deficit, securing funding for the establishment of the sovereign wealth fund may not be easy.
Currently, more than 90 sovereign wealth funds worldwide manage assets totaling $8 trillion. The previous Biden administration also considered establishing a sovereign wealth fund in November last year.
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