World's first $4 trillion company unruffled by Trump tariff threat
"Nobody likes disruptions and no one likes abrupt changes, but these settlements will − President Trump will settle these deals and countries will reorganize and resettle, and we'll work through it,' Huang told USA TODAY.
Huang leads advanced chip-maker NVIDIA, which this week became the first company to reach a stock market value of $4 trillion, making it worth more than better-known tech rivals like Apple and Microsoft. He met with Trump at the White House on July 10 where, he said, the president was jubilant over NVIDIA's milestone.
More: Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4 trillion market cap. What are the top 5?
As Trump negotiates with China and other top trading partners, Huang's business sits dead center at the intersection of potentially costly United States tariffs, a boom in artificial intelligence – and the computer chips that power it.
The California-based company makes advanced chips, which are then mass-produced by companies like the Taiwan-based TSMC that would be heavily affected by a possible Trump tariff on semiconductor imports.
But Huang showed no signs of panic. Tariffs, taxes and all kinds of rules and regulations were in place long before he founded NVIDIA, said Huang. And if Trump moves ahead with steep semiconductor tariffs, it will be no different.
More: Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4 trillion market cap. What are the top 5?
"Every single year there were rules and taxes and tariffs and policies and regulations, and we survived," Huang said. "I have every confidence that the world is going to survive this, companies will survive this and whatever it turns out to be, we'll make the best of it."
NVIDIA became the first publicly-traded company to reach a $4 trillion market value this week. It has gained 22% in value this year alone during an artificial intelligence boom. Huang's own net worth, which Forbes estimates to be $143.6 billion, makes him one of the richest men in the world.
More: Is that product really made in the USA? FTC cracks down on deceptive claims
Huang's July 10 meeting with Trump was his fifth in almost as many months, and he sat down with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent the next day.
In an interview with USA TODAY on July 11, Huang said he "absolutely" believes America needs to produce more semiconductors.
Trade wars: Trump keeps pushing on trade with tariff on copper imports; pharmaceuticals are next
"Absolutely. I believe President Trump's vision, his bold vision to manufacture in the United States, it's great for our industries, it's great for our society," he said.
Huang, who was born in Taiwan and educated in the U.S., said that while manufacturing has economic and national security benefits − it also has health and social benefits.
"We've lost a lot of manufacturing capability and skills, which is really great for skilled craft and people that work with their hands and build things. We want to celebrate that. We want to bring that back to the United States. It's very important to national security, industrial security, supply chain resilience," he said.
Trump referenced NVIDIA's record stock price on social media in a July 10 post promoting his tariffs ahead of his meeting with Huang.
More: Nvidia reaches historic $4 trillion valuation, leads Wall Street's AI charge
Huang told USA TODAY that Trump said in their meeting that he was proud of the valuation.
"He spent a lot of time congratulating me and telling everybody all around him what a great achievement it was," Huang said.
They also discussed ways to help American tech companies maintain their competitive edge in the transition to AI and ways to bring skilled manufacturing back to America. He said NVIDIA is making supercomputers in Texas and packaging them in Arizona.
Huang will be in China next week. He said he talked to Trump about the trip but they did not discuss trade negotiations between the two countries and did not know when a final agreement could come to fruition.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NVIDIA, the first $4 trillion company, isn't afraid of Trump tariffs
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