By Jonathan Stempel and Suzanne McGee

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) -Before announcing his plan to step down as Berkshire Hathaway chief executive at the end of the year, Warren Buffett offered a fervent defense of trade on Saturday, saying tariffs should not be a "weapon" and the United States would be better off if other countries shared its prosperity.

Buffett spoke at Saturday's annual meeting of his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, after a month when U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies prompted big stock price declines and increased fears of recession.

"Balanced trade is good for the world," and "trade should not be a weapon," said Buffett, 94, who has run Berkshire for 60 years and is arguably the world's most revered investor.

"I don't think it's a good idea to design a world where a few countries say, ha ha ha, we've won," Buffett added. "I do think that the more prosperous the rest of the world becomes ... the more prosperous we'll become."

Berkshire itself has remained cautious toward markets, as its cash stake swelled in the first quarter to a record $347.7 billion.

At the meeting, Buffett fielded more than four hours of shareholder questions, with help from Berkshire's vice chairmen Greg Abel - who is expected to replace Buffett as chief executive - and Ajit Jain.

Buffett parried a question about the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk's cost-cutting initiative, while warning that federal budget deficits are "unsustainable" and the U.S. government must get its fiscal house in order.

"It's a job that I don't want, but a job that should be done, and Congress does not seem to be doing it," Buffett said, prompting audience applause.

Buffett also urged patience to investors worried about the direction of the U.S. economy and the country itself, saying they should reconsider their approach to investing if sudden market declines left them unsettled.

He nonetheless maintained his trademark long-term optimism for the country, saying criticism of policies and the people who make them is par for the course.

"We're always in the process of change," he said. "If I were being born today, you know, I would just keep negotiating in the womb until (they) said you can be in the United States. We're all pretty lucky."

NET SELLER OF STOCKS, AGAIN

Berkshire reported its cash stake with its first-quarter results, where insurance losses from January's wildfires in southern California contributed to a 14% decline in operating profit to $9.64 billion.

Insurance businesses including Geico had a very strong year in 2024, and Buffett said that won't be replicated in 2025. "Prices are down this year, risks are up," he said.

Quarterly net income fell 64% to $4.6 billion, reflecting unrealized losses on stocks such as Apple.

Berkshire's cash stake grew from $334.2 billion at year-end. The company has repurchased no stock since last May, and has been a net seller of stocks for 10 straight quarters.

Buffett downplayed concern about Berkshire's cash, saying the company "came close" to spending $10 billion recently, but that buying opportunities don't come in an orderly fashion.

Abel made clear he shares Buffett's philosophy toward building up cash, and spending it wisely on businesses that fit Berkshire's culture.

A large amount of cash is "a strategic asset, and it allows us to weather the difficult times and not be dependent on anybody," Abel said.

Before acquiring whole businesses, "the value relative to the risk has to be right," he added.

Buffett and Abel also strongly backed five Japanese trading houses - Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo - in which Berkshire has invested, and said Berkshire could hold its stakes for 50 years.

"We're building relationships," Abel said. "And we really hope to do big things with them."

Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, who oversees insurance operations, told another questioner that the Geico car insurer has made "rapid strides" upgrading technology to gauge driver behavior and price policies appropriately for risk.

LINING UP TO HEAR BUFFETT ONE LAST TIME

Berkshire's share price has weathered a turbulent period for markets in 2025, rising 18.9% while the Standard & Poor's 500 was down 3.3%.

For many, Berkshire's diverse portfolio of businesses offers a mirror into the broader U.S. economy, which shrank for the first time in three years in the first quarter.

Berkshire's portfolio includes the BNSF railroad, Geico car insurance, energy businesses, real estate brokerage HomeServices and Fruit of the Loom underwear.

Berkshire's meeting draws tens of thousands of people to Omaha.

Thousands of shareholders lined up in 40-degree weather (4 degrees Celsius) before doors opened at 7 a.m. to the downtown Omaha arena housing the meeting. Some arrived very early.

"Warren is getting old so I wanted to seize the opportunity," said Wang Yu, who flew from Guangzhou, China and said he lined up at 11 p.m. Friday night. "His ideas are simple but you want to immerse yourself in the moment."

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Additional reporting by Suzanne McGee and Carolina Mandl; Editing by Megan Davies, Diane Craft and Andrea Ricci)