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CTV News
9 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Trump to outline AI priorities amid tech battle with China
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is set to release a new artificial intelligence blueprint on Wednesday that aims to relax American rules governing the industry at the center of a technological arms race between economic rivals the U.S. and China. Trump will mark the plan's release with a speech outlining the importance of winning an AI race that is increasingly seen as a defining feature of 21st-century geopolitics, with both China and the U.S. investing heavily in the industry to secure economic and military superiority. According to a summary seen by Reuters, the plan calls for the export of U.S. AI technology abroad and a crackdown on state laws deemed too restrictive to let it flourish, a marked departure from former President Joe Biden's 'high fence' approach that limited global access to coveted AI chips. Top administration officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House National Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett are also expected to join the event titled 'Winning the AI Race,' organized by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and his co-hosts on the 'All-In' podcast, according to an event schedule reviewed by Reuters. Trump may incorporate some of the plan's recommendations into executive orders that will be signed ahead of his speech, according to two sources familiar with the plans. Trump directed his administration in January to develop the plan. The event will be hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum, an informal supper club whose deep-pocketed members helped propel Trump's campaign and sketched out a road map for his AI policy long before he was elected. Trump is expected to take additional actions in the upcoming weeks that will help Big Tech secure the vast amounts of electricity it needs to power the energy-guzzling data centers needed for the rapid expansion of AI, Reuters previously reported. U.S. power demand is hitting record highs this year after nearly two decades of stagnation as AI and cloud computing data centers balloon in number and size across the country. The new AI plan will seek to bar federal AI funding from going to states with tough AI rules and ask the Federal Communications Commission to assess whether state laws conflict with its mandate, according to the summary. The Trump administration will also promote open-source and open-weight AI development and 'export American AI technologies through full-stack deployment packages' and data center initiatives led by the Commerce Department, according to the summary. Trump is laser-focused on removing barriers to AI expansion, in stark contrast to Biden, who feared U.S. adversaries like China could harness AI chips produced by companies like Nvidia and AMD to supercharge its military and harm allies. Biden, who left office in January, imposed a raft of restrictions on U.S. exports of AI chips to China and other countries that it feared could divert the semiconductors to America's top global rival. Trump rescinded Biden's executive order aimed at promoting competition, protecting consumers and ensuring AI was not used for misinformation. He also rescinded Biden's so-called AI diffusion rule, which capped the amount of American AI computing capacity that some countries were allowed to obtain via U.S. AI chip imports. In May, Trump announced deals with the United Arab Emirates that gave the Gulf country expanded access to advanced artificial intelligence chips from the U.S. after previously facing restrictions over Washington's concerns that China could access the technology. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Alexandra Alper; Additional reporting by Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Trump to outline AI priorities amid tech battle with China
July 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is set to release a new artificial intelligence blueprint on Wednesday that aims to relax American rules governing the industry at the center of a technological arms race between economic rivals the U.S. and China. President Donald Trump will mark the plan's release with a speech outlining the importance of winning an AI race that is increasingly seen as a defining feature of 21st-century geopolitics, with both China and the U.S. investing heavily in the industry to secure economic and military superiority. According to a summary seen by Reuters, the plan calls for the export of U.S. AI technology abroad and a crackdown on state laws deemed too restrictive to let it flourish, a marked departure from former President Joe Biden's "high fence" approach that limited global access to coveted AI chips. Top administration officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House National Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett are also expected to join the event titled "Winning the AI Race," organized by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and his co-hosts on the "All-In" podcast, according to an event schedule reviewed by Reuters. Trump may incorporate some of the plan's recommendations into executive orders that will be signed ahead of his speech, according to two sources familiar with the plans. Trump directed his administration in January to develop the plan. The event will be hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum, an informal supper club whose deep-pocketed members helped propel Trump's campaign and sketched out a road map for his AI policy long before he was elected. Trump is expected to take additional actions in the upcoming weeks that will help Big Tech secure the vast amounts of electricity it needs to power the energy-guzzling data centers needed for the rapid expansion of AI, Reuters previously reported. U.S. power demand is hitting record highs this year after nearly two decades of stagnation as AI and cloud computing data centers balloon in number and size across the country. The new AI plan will seek to bar federal AI funding from going to states with tough AI rules and ask the Federal Communications Commission to assess whether state laws conflict with its mandate, according to the summary. The Trump administration will also promote open-source and open-weight AI development and "export American AI technologies through full-stack deployment packages" and data center initiatives led by the Commerce Department, according to the summary. Trump is laser-focused on removing barriers to AI expansion, in stark contrast to Biden, who feared U.S. adversaries like China could harness AI chips produced by companies like Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab to supercharge its military and harm allies. Biden, who left office in January, imposed a raft of restrictions on U.S. exports of AI chips to China and other countries that it feared could divert the semiconductors to America's top global rival. Trump rescinded Biden's executive order aimed at promoting competition, protecting consumers and ensuring AI was not used for misinformation. He also rescinded Biden's so-called AI diffusion rule, which capped the amount of American AI computing capacity that some countries were allowed to obtain via U.S. AI chip imports. In May, Trump announced deals with the United Arab Emirates that gave the Gulf country expanded access to advanced artificial intelligence chips from the U.S. after previously facing restrictions over Washington's concerns that China could access the technology.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump talks of new August tariff date and looks for more trade deals
The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before a Wednesday deadline, when the president's 90-day so-called 'reciprocal' tariff deadline is set to expire. The United States plans to start sending letters on Monday warning countries that higher tariffs could kick in on 1 August. That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America's trading partners, and questions remain about which countries will be notified, whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether President Donald Trump will once more push off imposing the rates. Trump and his top trade advisers say he could extend the time for dealmaking but they insist the administration is applying maximum pressure on other nations. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CBS' 'Face the Nation' on Sunday that Trump would decide when it was time to give up on negotiations. 'The United States is always willing to talk to everybody about everything,' Hassett said. 'There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, so maybe things will push back past the deadline or maybe they won't. In the end the president is going to make that judgment.' Stephen Miran, the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, likewise said countries negotiating in good faith and making concessions could 'sort of, get the date rolled'. The tariffs on the table The steeper tariffs that Trump announced on 2 April threatened to overhaul the global economy and lead to broader trade wars. A week later, after the financial markets had panicked, the US administration suspended most of the higher taxes on imports for 90 days just as they were about to take effect. The negotiating window until 9 July has led to announced deals only with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Trump imposed elevated tariff rates on dozens of nations that run meaningful trade surpluses with the US, and a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries in response to what he called an economic emergency. Many economists nonetheless fear that Trump's tariffs have the potential to raise inflation, stalling interest rate cuts and therefore hindering growth. There are separate 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on autos. Since April, few foreign governments have set new trade terms with Washington as the Republican president demanded. Trump told reporters on Friday that his administration might be sending out letters as early as Saturday to countries spelling out their tariff rates if they did not reach a deal, but noted that the US would not start collecting those taxes until 1 August. On Sunday, he said he would send out letters from Monday to foreign governments, reflecting planned tariffs for each. 'Could be 12, could be 15,' he added. 'We've made deals also,' Trump told reporters before heading back to the White House from his home in New Jersey. 'So we'll get to have a combination of letters, and some deals have been made.' He and his advisers have declined to say which countries would receive the letters. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the idea that 1 August was a new deadline and declined to say what might happen on Wednesday. 'We'll see," Bessent said on CNN's State of the Union. "I'm not going to give away the playbook.' He said the US was 'close to several deals', and predicted several big announcements over the next few days. He gave no details. "I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly,' Bessent said. Related President Trump says he'll set unilateral tariff rates within weeks BRICS group slams tariffs and Iran conflict at summit in Brazil Targeting BRICS nations Later Sunday, Trump vowed to impose more tariffs against the BRICS bloc of developing nations, which had condemned tariffs increases at its summit in Brazil. Trump said in a post on his social media platform that any country aligning itself with what he termed 'the Anti-American policies of BRICS' would be levied an added 10% tariff. Trump has announced a deal with Vietnam that would allow US goods to enter the country duty-free, while Vietnamese exports to the US would face a 20% levy. That was a decline from the 46% tax on Vietnamese imports he proposed in April — one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries with which the US runs a trade deficit. There are a number of factors behind the trade deficits the US is running but the strength of the dollar, which makes imports cheaper for Americans, is notably driving up demand for cheap, foreign goods. Asked if he expected to reach deals with the European Union or India, Trump said on Friday that 'letters are better for us' because there are so many countries involved. 'We have India coming up and with Vietnam, we did it, but much easier to send a letter saying, 'Listen, we know we have a certain deficit, or in some cases a surplus, but not too many. And this is what you're going to have to pay if you want to do business in the United States.' Canada, however, will not be one of the countries receiving letters, Trump's ambassador, Pete Hoekstra, said on Friday after trade talks between the two countries recently resumed. 'Canada is one of our biggest trading partners,' Hoekstra told CTV News in an interview in Ottawa. 'We're going to have a deal that's articulated." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he wants a new deal in place by 21 July or Canada will increase trade countermeasures. Hoekstra would not commit to a date for a trade agreement and said that even with a deal, Canada could still face some tariffs. But 'we're not going to send Canada just a letter,' he said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
AstraZeneca Joins Pharma Investment Push in U.S. Amid Tariff Threat
The British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has promised to invest $50 billion in the United States by 2030, the latest in a string of pledges by pharmaceutical companies as they try to fend off President Trump's threat to impose a 200 percent tariff on imported drugs. Pascal Soriot, the chief executive of AstraZeneca, announced the plans on Monday in Washington while seated next to Kevin Hassett, the director of the U.S. National Economic Council, and Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia, where the company will direct a major plank of the investment. The plans 'underpins our belief in America's innovation in biopharmaceuticals and our commitment to the millions of patients who need our medicines in America and globally,' Mr. Soriot said. The investment will go to projects like building a manufacturing plant in Virginia to make drug substances, including for the company's weight loss drugs. The plant in Virginia will be AstraZeneca's largest single manufacturing investment in its 26-year history, the company said. The money will also go toward plants in California, Indiana, Maryland and Texas, as well as expanding research and development facilities in Maryland and Massachusetts. 'For decades, Americans have been reliant on foreign supply of key pharmaceutical products,' Howard Lutnick, the U.S. commerce secretary, said in a statement as part of the AstraZeneca announcement. 'President Trump and our nation's new tariff policies are focused on ending this structural weakness.' This year, some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies have announced billions in investments in the United States. Roche, the Swiss company, said in April it would put $50 billion into research and development centers and manufacturing sites. Novartis, another Swiss firm, said it would invest $23 billion over the next five years. American companies including Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and AbbVie have also announced major investments. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
AstraZeneca Vows to Spend $50 Billion on US Manufacturing, Development
AstraZeneca Plc plans to invest $50 billion in the US before 2030, becoming the latest European pharma company to ratchet up spending in the country ahead of potential tariffs on imported medicines. The investment will go toward manufacturing as well as research and development, Astra said in a statement. It includes $4 billion for a new facility in Virginia that will make drugs for chronic diseases, Kevin Hassett, director of the US National Economic Council, said Monday at an event in Washington, DC.
