The Hill Holds Second Annual Invest in America Summit Featuring AI Adoption, Trump Tariffs and Energy Security

The Hill held its second annual Invest in America Summit on Wednesday at an event sponsored by Tokyo Electron. S. economy is changing and keeping up with competitors.

Ann Fairchild, president and CEO of Siemens USA, told moderator Betty Liu that artificial intelligence now dominates nearly every discussion. “You can’t have any conversation about anything anymore without bringing AI into the conversation,” Fairchild said. A McKinsey survey found that 88 percent of businesses reported using AI in at least one business function in 2025.

That figure was up 10 percentage points from 2024 and up 68 points from 2017. Peter Navarro, senior counselor to President Trump on trade and manufacturing, said the administration imposes tariffs to protect the manufacturing base, the defense industrial base and American workers. “All we want to do is balance our trade, okay?

The day that our trade deficit goes to zero is the day I’ll be happy with no tariffs,” Navarro said. Caroline Baxter, director of the Converging Risks Lab at the Council on Strategic Risks and a former Pentagon official during the Biden administration, said Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz demonstrated the need for diverse energy sources.

“You need an energy grid that can withstand and stand up to an influx of different kinds of power,” Baxter said.

Navarro also cautioned the Federal Reserve against raising interest rates.