General Motors President and CEO Mary Barra tours an April 1, 2020 facility at the company’s Warren, Michigan facility that will produce Level 1 face masks.
GM
CEOs of the nation’s largest companies hope that the commercial impact of the coronavirus will persist until at least the end of 2021. Almost a third of them fear it may persist beyond that.
In a second-quarter Business Roundtable report released Monday, the corporate trade group said a survey of its members, which includes General Motors, Apple and Johnson & Johnson, among other major companies, showed that most expect that most expect commercial conditions. to recover in late 2021.
But an important question remains: 27% expect the recovery to extend beyond next year.
That sizable percentage, and the disagreement among the country’s most powerful executives, represents how uncertain the economic climate is as the United States battles a health disaster with little modern precedence.
There were hopes that the US was headed for recovery after fears and closing orders rocked the economy this spring. But coronavirus cases have increased again, and states like Texas have had to delay their reopening plans. On Friday alone, an additional 45,255 cases were reported, bringing the country’s seven-day average to more than 41% more than the previous week.
A staff member checks a customer’s temperature at an Apple Store entrance during the first phase of reopening after the closure of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York City, New York, the United States, June 17, 2020.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The Business Roundtable report referred to the rising infection rate, saying the new cases “suggest the need for broader adoption of security measures and for public officials to review their reopening plans to ensure widespread use. of masks, continued limitations on collection size and measures to keep vulnerable populations safe. “
In some cases, CEOs have acted before local governments, with companies like Apple closing stores in critical states before being mandated to do so.
“Our battle against COVID-19 is far from over, and our top priority remains the health and safety of our employees, customers and the communities we serve,” said Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart and President of the Roundtable at Business. “We urge lawmakers at the federal, state and local levels to coordinate as much as possible to control the further spread of this virus.”
Americans lined up to buy products at supermarkets like Costco Wholesale and Walmart out of fear of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey, the United States, on April 18, 2020.
Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | fake pictures
The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey, a composite index of chief executive plans for capital spending and hiring in the next six months, fell to 34.3, its lowest reading since the second quarter of 2009, as the United States he was struggling to recover from the world. financial collapse of the previous year. The all-time low, which the index reached during the first quarter of 2009, is negative 5.
The second quarter survey was conducted between June 1 and June 22.
The United States officially entered the coronavirus recession in February this year.
The BRT report comes as the US government is still working out its economic response to the pandemic. Lawmakers have yet to act on a follow-up piece to the main $ 2 trillion CARES law signed in late March. While the informal talks have already started, they are expected to start more seriously in mid-July.
On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, top Democrats in Congress, urged Republican-led Senate leaders to act quickly on the legislation . They warned that “the nation has seen a dramatic increase in both the cases and deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic” and “our economy faces one of its greatest challenges since the Great Depression.”
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (left) and Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (d) hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on May 22, 2019 , after a meeting with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, at the White House.
Saul Loeb | AFP | fake pictures
Lobbyists have told CNBC that if the coronavirus infection rate continues to rise and the market shows signs of fear, they hope that Congress should shift its focus from initiatives aimed at broader recovery efforts to plug economic holes, as it did. with CARES Act.
The Business Roundtable is among the corporate lobby groups that have already made clear some of their priorities in the next legislative package. In a letter to the House and Senate leadership in May, the group called for a “return to work bonus” that matches the additional $ 600 unemployment benefit provided by the CARES Act, which some lawmakers have said that it discourages unemployed workers from returning to work. The group is among those demanding liability protections to reduce “costly non-meritorious litigation.”
“We appreciate the actions taken by the Administration and Congress so far to help American workers, small businesses, and communities, but there is much more to do,” Joshua Bolten, President and CEO of Business Roundtable, said in a statement. .
“We encourage policymakers to work together on additional measures that will help quickly end this public health crisis and encourage economic recovery efforts as business operations resume. CEOs remain committed to promoting compliance with COVID-19 security measures so states can remain safe open for business. “
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