U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet next week with the country’s tech leaders experiencing the impacts of the import tariffs and stricter export rules that could overturn their businesses.
The group which includes Chief Executive Officers of tech companies such as HP, Intel, IBM, and Qualcomm reached an agreement to meet the Trump administration on March 10.
President Trump recently imposed a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico which has triggered various reactions such as the sell-off in the crypto markets. Another is a policy change that has threatened the computer hardware industry where the tariff will make manufacturing locations like China become more expensive.
At the scheduled meeting, tech companies want clarity on what restrictions might be placed on their export of advanced technology for artificial intelligence (AI) data centres, which are being built all over the world.
“Some of the topics top of mind for our leadership team are trade policy and US manufacturing,” said an HP representative who confirmed to Bloomberg that the company would be there on March 10.
Donald Trump has vowed to stick to his campaign promises to levy tariffs on key trade partners coming off attempts to disequilibrium what he tagged as unfair balances. These changes are set to make operating in the market difficult for the electronics industry, a position that has previously made it so efficient.
The Trump administration is also developing an AI action plan that seeks to sustain and enhance America’s leadership in the field. Therein, the U.S. President has also called on Congress to revoke the 2022 Chips Act, bipartisan legislation that is providing billions of dollars in incentives to companies like Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
“Your Chips Act is a horrible, horrible thing,” Mr Trump said during an address to Congress on March 4, imploring the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, to get rid of the legislation.
Separately, the President hosted an event this week with TSMC in which the chipmaker pledged to invest an additional $100 billion in U.S. plants.
The administration has pointed to the agreement as a sign that the country can use tariffs – rather than Chips Act-style incentives – to attract investment.
Like tech leaders, crypto leaders meet Trump
On another end, the U.S. president will meet with several crypto leaders on Friday. The meeting will be led by the president’s “crypto czar,” David Sacks, with prominent founders, CEOs, investors, and members of a Trump working group. Policies aimed at accelerating crypto growth and providing the legitimacy the industry has long wanted will be crafted at the meeting.
Top individuals include twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of platform Gemini, with reports that Brad Armstrong of Coinbase and Michael Saylor, the boss of major bitcoin investor MicroStrategy, will also be in attendance.
The US crypto community rallied behind Trump’s campaign where they contributed millions of dollars towards his victory over Joe Biden, whose administration tightened regulations and expressed doubts toward digital currencies. That support seems to be paying off.
The world’s most famous cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has experienced mixed trends as its latest major drop saw it fall below $90,000 last week Tuesday. The crash was attributed to reports of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Mexico and Canada, triggering a sell-off in the crypto markets.
The digital assets then regained momentum on Monday as its price increased by 20 per cent following President Trump’s post on the creation of a federal reserve of cryptocurrency assets.
President Donald Trump again exhibited his support for digital assets in the creation of a federal reserve of cryptocurrency assets. He initially highlighted XRP, Solana, and Cardano for inclusion, then later said Bitcoin and Ethereum would “obviously” be included too.
Trump confirmed plans for a strategic cryptocurrency reserve where the US government would deposit digital currency holdings acquired mainly from judicial seizures.
Also Read: El Salvador to continue buying Bitcoin against IMF’s request in $1.4 billion fund plan.
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