President Trump’s tariffs could inadvertently deliver a “massive gift” to China by allowing it to catch up in the AI race and court new partners globally, Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at center-right think tank R Street Institute, tells Fortune.
“It’s going to be very hard for the U.S. to win the so-called AI Cold War if America’s trade policies are simultaneously tanking global markets, discouraging technological investments, and potentially undermining traditional alliances with key allies,” says Thierer, who testified before House lawmakers earlier this week about the threat of Chinese AI models like DeepSeek to U.S. national security.
