Donald Trump is facing significant hurdles after declaring, in a series of executive orders last year, that rapid construction of AI data centers was among his top priorities to ensure the US wins the AI race against China.
Perhaps most likely to frustrate the president, his aggressive tariffs on Chinese imports are reportedly hindering most data center projects.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that “almost half of the US 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 out the power infrastructure that every data center needs.
These parts, which China has primarily manufactured for US manufacturers “for decades,” used to take between 24 and 30 months to get delivered prior to 2020. Now, they can require wait times up to five years, Bloomberg reported. That lag could matter, since China is reportedly about five years behind the US in the AI race.
Rather than rely on China, Trump would prefer that the US manufacture its own equipment. However, currently, “US manufacturing capacity for these devices cannot keep up with demand,” Bloomberg reported.
Analysts at the market intelligence firm Sightline Climate told Bloomberg that “only a third” of the largest AI data centers that are supposed to come online in 2026 are “currently under construction.” For firms feeling “hamstrung” by the circumstances, many are willing to pay tariffs and take on alleged national security risks to try to get the goods from China on faster timelines.
Trump seems to be avoiding this harsh reality. In March, he didn’t mention the power infrastructure problem when ordering tech companies to “build, bring, or buy” the power for their data centers. But data center builders can’t as easily ignore the fact that it doesn’t matter where the power comes from if there’s nothing to plug in.