President Trump announced an expansive and aggressive "reciprocal tariff" policy in a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday. The plan established a 10% baseline tariff, though many countries such as China, Vietnam and Taiwan are subject to steeper rates. The announcement sent stocks tumbling on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing down nearly 6%, and registering its biggest decline since March 2020.
The big reason Nvidia may be better positioned to withstand Trump's tariff hikes is because semiconductors are on the list of exceptions, which Gerstner called a "wise exception" due to the importance of AI.