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.

Warren Buffett criticized tariffs and trade wars during Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 4.

The first question for Warren Buffett at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting involved world trade as President Trump's tariff policy disrupts the status quo.