Trump Directs Technological Enhancements for Infrastructure Permitting Procedures

April 16, 2025 TruthUSA

With the president’s implementation of retaliatory tariffs, companies such as Nvidia are making commitments to establish manufacturing hubs within the nation.

President Donald Trump has issued a memorandum aimed at accelerating environmental reviews and assessing permits to utilize modern technology and expedite related projects throughout the country.

According to an April 15 presidential memorandum from the White House, Trump has directed executive departments and agencies to “maximize the use of technology in environmental reviews and permitting processes for various infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, mines, factories, power plants, and more.”

The memo highlighted that inefficient review processes, which fail to utilize available technology, currently cause a “significant delay” and impose adverse financial effects on projects.

Trump has mandated the digitization of application and review processes, aimed at speeding up processing times without compromising review quality, shortening documentation requirements, and enhancing coordination and transparency among agencies, among other initiatives.

Furthermore, the president proposed the establishment of an interagency Permitting Innovation Center to encourage a wider adoption of coordinated technology applications.

This memorandum builds on Trump’s previous executive order, titled “Unleashing American Energy,” issued on January 20, which also called for “efficient permitting” by simplifying the permitting process.

Trump has tasked the chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and pertinent agencies with a 45-day deadline to create a Permitting Technology Action Plan aimed at updating federal permitting processes concerning infrastructure projects.

This memorandum follows a significant tech announcement from AI-chip maker Nvidia, which declared its intention to construct factories in the United States for manufacturing supercomputers.

AI Made in America

On April 14, Nvidia, based in California, announced in a statement that it has “secured more than a million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test NVIDIA Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas.”

“Tens of ‘gigawatt AI factories’ are anticipated to be established in the upcoming years,” the company added, stating that this initiative is set to generate hundreds of thousands of jobs and contribute trillions of dollars to economic stability over the decades ahead.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated, “For the first time, the engines of the world’s AI infrastructure are being constructed in the United States.”

Reacting to the announcement, Trump remarked in an April 15 post on Truth Social, “Nvidia is committing 500 billion dollars towards the construction of AI supercomputers exclusively in the United States. This is incredibly significant and exciting news. All necessary permits will be expedited and swiftly granted to Nvidia, as they will be for any companies joining the Golden Age of America!”

Nvidia’s announcement served as a positive development for the Trump administration, which had faced criticism for economic losses resulting from ongoing tariff negotiations with various countries.

Trump has temporarily paused all reciprocal tariffs enacted on nations that imposed unfair trade barriers against American imports, with the exception of China, as it announced retaliatory tariffs. Trump is currently negotiating new trading terms with approximately 70 countries. This pause period is established for 90 days.

Recently, Trump revealed that a distinct set of tariffs will be applied to China’s semiconductor products.

“We aimed to simplify the process,” he explained. “Because we want to manufacture our chips, semiconductors, and other products domestically.”

Semiconductor products will fall under a separate tariff “category.”

Investments in manufacturing generally depend on the facilities provided by government authorities.

In his executive order, Trump emphasized that “all agencies must prioritize efficiency and certainty over any other objectives, including those of activist groups that do not align with policy goals … which could potentially introduce delays and confusion to the permitting process.”

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