WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump planned to hold meetings on Monday with business and labor leaders at the start of his first full week in office, seeking to work quickly on his campaign promise to boost the American manufacturing sector and deliver more jobs.
The Republican, who took office on Friday after eight years of a Democratic White House, was scheduled to meet with business leaders at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) and then hold an afternoon meeting with labor leaders and U.S. workers, according to his schedule.
The White House, which announced the meetings in a schedule released late on Sunday, did not name company executives or union leaders who would take part. White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for more details.
Trump said on Twitter early on Monday that he planned to discuss U.S. manufacturing with executives but gave no other details.
“Busy week planned with a heavy focus on jobs and national security,” Trump said in a tweet. “Top executives coming in at 9:00 A.M. to talk manufacturing in America.”
The morning gathering will include Dow Chemical Co Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris, according to a person briefed on the meeting.
Trump named Liveris in December to lead a private-sector group on manufacturing that will advise the U.S. secretary of commerce. Trump’s designated commerce secretary, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, is known for backing tariffs and fighting to protect U.S. manufacturers but has also sent jobs abroad.
Before taking office, Trump hosted a number of U.S. CEOs in meetings in New York, including business leaders from defense, technology and other sectors. He also met with leaders of several unions, including the AFL-CIO.
Trump, a real estate developer, has particularly focused on manufacturing, lamenting during his inaugural address on Friday about “rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation” and vowing to boost U.S. industries over foreign ones.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Roberta Rampton and David Shepardson; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Lisa Von Ahn and Frances Kerry)
