Donald Trump faces significant headwinds after announcing in a series of executive orders last year that the rapid construction of AI data centers was one of his top priorities to ensure the US wins the AI race against China.
Perhaps most likely to frustrate the President is that his aggressive tariffs on Chinese imports are reportedly hindering most data center projects.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that “about half of U.S. data centers planned for this year are expected to be delayed or canceled” because developers can’t import enough transformers, switchgear and batteries to build the power infrastructure that every data center needs.
These parts, which China has manufactured primarily for American manufacturers “for decades,” used to take 24 to 30 months to be delivered before 2020. Now, they may require a waiting time of up to five years, Bloomberg reports. This lag may matter, as China is reportedly about five years behind the US in the AI race.
Instead of relying on China, Trump would like America to make its own equipment. However, at present, “U.S. manufacturing capacity for these devices cannot keep up with demand,” Bloomberg reported.
Analysts at market intelligence firm Sightline Climate told Bloomberg that “only a third” of the largest AI data centers coming online in 2026 “are currently under construction.” For companies feeling troubled by the circumstances, many are willing to pay tariffs and take perceived national security risks to get goods from China in a faster time frame.
It seems that Trump seems to be avoiding this bitter truth. In March, he did not mention the power infrastructure problem when ordering tech companies to “build, bring or buy” power for their data centers. But data center builders can’t so easily ignore the fact that if there’s nothing to plug into it doesn’t matter where the power comes from.
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