In a recent interview, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates expressed his views on President Donald Trump's tariffs, market turmoil, and the global tech rivalry with China.
What Happened: Gates was critical of the unpredictability surrounding U.S. economic policies, warning that it obstructs long-term business decisions. "If you’re going to build a new factory, you need to understand the policies for the next 20 years, not just the next two days or even four years," he said in an interview with CNN.
He underscored the risk of introducing volatility in a period already molded by fast-paced advancements in artificial intelligence and labor market changes. "I think it’s a bad time to interject so much uncertainty," Gates opined.
On the U.S.-China tech rivalry, Gates acknowledged that export bans have pushed China to focus its own efforts. "They’ve forced the Chinese in terms of chip manufacturing and everything to go full speed ahead," he said.
See Also: Trump Proposes Major Cut in China Tariffs, Signaling Shift in Trade War
Why It Matters: Gates observed that the tariff and tech restrictions have only boosted China's initiatives to become self-reliant. "The notion that it was going to be super unique to us—we made clear to them that they needed to make their own chips, and they’re making great progress on doing that," he said.
Gates added that with open-source tools widely available, neither the U.S. nor China is likely to come out on top: "The AI technologies will be available to the world, and people can build on those in their own way."
Despite his concerns, Gates expressed restrained optimism about the U.S. economy. "I think there’s a lot of resilience in the U.S. economy," he said. But he warned that policy unpredictability can slow down investment and damage international relationships, especially with poorer countries. "There were gigantic tariffs on very poor African countries… I don’t see what the benefit of that would have been."
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