During his anticipated first meeting of the day with executives from GM, Ford and Chrysler, Trump pledged to cut regulations and taxes in a "very big push" to have more auto plants in the US, noting that environmentalism in the US is out of control, although he said that he is "to large extent" an environmentalist.

Tuesday's gathering was the first time the CEOs of the big three automakers have met jointly with a U.S. president since a July 2011 session with former Democratic President Barack Obama to tout a deal to nearly double fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Fiat Chrysler is the Italian-American parent of the former Michigan-based Chrysler.

"I want new plants to be built here for cars sold here!" Trump said in a tweet ahead of the meeting with automakers, saying he would discuss U.S. jobs with the chief executives.

During the meeting Trump said that while "it's not the construction of plants that we're looking for, although that brings jobs, it's the long-term jobs that we're looking for."

"We're bringing manufacturing back to the US big league, we're reducing taxes very substantially, and we're reducing unnecessary regulations."

Trump said that "we want regulations but we want real regulations" although he did not elaborate what those are.

He vowed to make the process "much more simple for the auto companies and everybody else that wants to do business in the United States" and promised to make the US "one of the most friendly countries for manufacturing."

On regulations he said that "while he is to large extent an environmentalist, it's out of control. And we're going to make it a very short process, and 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 quickly."

The meeting is the latest sign of Trump's uncommon degree of intervention for a U.S. president into corporate affairs as he has repeatedly pressured automakers and other manufacturers to "buy American and hire American."

In short: it sounds like Trump is focused on maximizing efficiency when it comes to relations with the private sector, and in exchange he wants just one thing: a long-term commitment to jobs.

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