'Factories in China, workers in India and profits in Ireland': Trump slams Silicon Valley's 'radical globalism'

US President Donald Trump has expressed discontent over US tech companies hiring Indian workers and building factories in China, saying that under his presidency, “those days are over”.

Addressing an AI Summit in Washington on Wednesday, Trump slammed the “global radicalism” of Silicon Valley, accusing major tech companies of exploiting American freedoms and outsourcing workers from elsewhere.

He said, “Many of our largest tech companies have reaped the blessings of American freedom while building their factories in China, hiring workers in India, and slashing profits in Ireland. We need US technology companies to be all-in for America.”

This is not the first time Trump has targeted US tech companies for hiring workers from abroad. Earlier this year, the president criticised Apple for manufacturing and assembling iPhones in India. He threatened CEO Tim Cook with 25 per cent tariffs on Apple products if the company does not stop manufacturing outside of the US.

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At the event, the president unveiled a sweeping new plan for America’s “global dominance” in artificial intelligence, proposing to cut back environmental regulations to speed up the construction of AI supercomputers while promoting the sale of US-made AI technologies at home and abroad.

The “AI Action Plan” embraces many of the ideas voiced by tech industry lobbyists and the Silicon Valley investors who backed Trump’s election campaign last year.

The plan includes some familiar tech lobby pitches. That includes accelerating the sale of AI technology abroad and making it easier to construct the energy-hungry data center buildings that are needed to form and run AI products. It also includes some AI culture war preoccupations of the circle of venture capitalists who endorsed Trump last year.

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The plan prioritises AI innovation and adoption, urging the removal of any barriers that could slow down adoption across industries and government. The nation’s policy, Trump said, will be to do “whatever it takes to lead the world in artificial intelligence.”

With inputs from agencies