Donald Trump meets top auto executives

We're going to make the process much more simple for the auto companies and for everybody else who wants to do business in the US, Trump said.

Washington, Jan 24: President Donald Trump on Tuesday met top auto executives of the country and discussed his election promise to bring back jobs to the United States as he assured them on addressing regulations and environmental clearances.

"We're bringing manufacturing back to the United States big league, we're reducing taxes very substantially and we’re reducing unnecessary regulations. And we want regulations but we want real regulation that mean something," Trump said at a breakfast meeting with the auto executives at the White House.

"We're going to make the process much more simple for the auto companies and for everybody else who wants to do business in the US. You're going to find this to be from being very inhospitable to extremely hospitable. I think we'll go down as one of the most friendly countries and right now it’s not," he told them. Trump said he has friends who want to build in the US, they go many, many years and then they can’t get their environmental permit over something that nobody ever heard of before.

"It's absolutely crazy. I am, to a large extent, an environmentalist, I believe in it. But it's out of control and we’re going to make it a very short process," he said, without explaining why he sees himself as an environmentalist. "We're going to either give you your permits or we're not going to give you your permits. But you're going to know very quickly. And generally speaking we’re going to be giving you your permits," said the US President.

Trump said jobs are coming back to the US in a big way. "It's happening, it's happening big league. We had Whirlpool up yesterday, we're talking about big construction facilities. And it's not the construction I want although that brings jobs. It's the long term jobs that we’re looking for," he said. After the meeting, automotive executives praised Trump for his focus on growing jobs and investment in the industry.

PTI