[WASHINGTON] CEOs and senior executives from Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, Hyundai Motor, Toyota Motor, and SoftBank Group are among the more than two-dozen business leaders slated to visit the White House on Wednesday for an event highlighting US investments, officials told Reuters.
President Donald Trump plans to promote a broad range of investments in the United States in defence, tech, healthcare and consumer products industries and investment funds marking his first 100 days in office at an “Investing in America” event, a White House official told Reuters.
Trump is seeking to encourage US and foreign companies to expand manufacturing in the United States, while he has sparked a global trade war, imposing tariffs on a wide range of countries.
Airlines, aerospace firms, automakers and retailers have expressed worries about the impact of tariffs on US manufacturing and sales.
The White House touted investment commitments from Taiwan chipmaker TSMC, Apple, and Roche saying they “demonstrate resounding confidence in the US economy and dollar under this administration.”
Some major companies have said they want more details on trade and other government regulations before committing to new investments. Trump has said General Motors is considering a new US$60 billion investment in the United States.
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“I need clarity, and then I need consistency,” GM CEO Mary Barra said at a Semafor forum last week. “To make those investments and to be good stewards of our owner’s capital, I need to understand what the policy is.”
Trump has said he is considering granting automakers some relief from new auto tariffs.
In January, he announced a private-sector investment of up to US$500 billion to fund infrastructure for artificial intelligence, aiming to outpace rival nations in the business-critical technology. That is expected to include ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle.
Last month, South Korea’s Hyundai announced a US$21 billion investment in the US at the White House, including a new US$5.8 billion Hyundai Steel plant in Louisiana that will produce over 2.7 million metric tons of steel annually, creating more than 1,400 jobs. REUTERS
