Foxconn is not afraid of Trump's heavy pressure on tariffs, the Mexican AI super factory that manufactures GB200 servers is expected to be ready within a year.

The governor of Jalisco, Mexico, Pablo Lemus Navarro, stated that despite the threat of a new global tariff war led by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, the manufacturing giant Foxconn is still striving to complete construction of the "AI Server Super Factory" near Guadalajara, Mexico within a year. The official name of the manufacturing giant Foxconn is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., and they are investing around $900 million to build one of the world's largest AI server manufacturing factories, focusing on mass production of Nvidia AI servers with the Blackwell architecture AI GPU - GB200, developed by NVIDIA Corporation. There are reports suggesting that the Nvidia GB300 AI server could also be manufactured at the Mexico AI super factory. The Blackwell Ultra GPU - GB300, expected to be mass-produced by the end of this year, is a higher energy-efficient AI GPU developed by NVIDIA Corporation as an update iteration of the Blackwell architecture. Foxconn's super factory in Mexico is aimed at assembling high-performance AI servers with the GB200 super chip from NVIDIA Corporation's next-generation Blackwell series computing platform, as well as other brands of AI servers used in massive AI data centers. The planning and construction of this super factory fully reflect Foxconn's shift in manufacturing strategy from focusing on manufacturing consumer electronics such as smartphones to high-end manufacturing in areas like artificial intelligence servers, leveraging its extensive manufacturing expertise to meet the growing demand for high-performance AI servers in the market. The project is divided into two phases: expanding Foxconn's existing large manufacturing facility in El Salto, and constructing a new factory nearby. Lemus stated that the construction is "expected to be completed within a year" and added that the factory is expected to begin operations for manufacturing by the end of this year or early 2026. On Monday, US President Trump announced new tariffs on Canada and Mexico, increasing them by 25%. These tariffs are intended to pressure the two neighboring countries to strengthen border control. Cindy Blanco, Secretary of Economic Development for Jalisco, stated that Foxconn is currently applying for permits from the government of El Salto to begin construction of the new factory. She also mentioned that the state government will provide financial incentives to support the large project, and her office will provide support in all paperwork procedures throughout the process of establishing the factory, no matter what they may need. A representative of Hon Hai declined to comment. Foxconn began expanding its server-related manufacturing operations in Mexico during Trump's first term to hedge against tensions between the U.S. and China. Although Trump's proposed tariffs of up to 25% on Mexico may increase the cost of high-end manufacturing operations for Foxconn and other businesses in the country, Lemus stated that new investments in the state have significantly increased and are expected to grow substantially by 2025 compared to 2024. "Several factories have told us that regardless of the tariffs announced by Trump, they will continue to operate in Mexico," Lemus said. "Not only have we not seen a slowdown in investment, on the contrary, they continue to pour into Jalisco." This year, investments in industrial parks in Jalisco have reached $300 million, with a significant increase in demand for high-end manufacturing. Lemus stated that over 60% of the available industrial space of over 600,000 square meters has already been pre-leased. Jalisco is home to around 70% of Mexico's semiconductor industry companies. Apart from the Foxconn factory, ASE Technology Holding Co., another major player in the industry, announced in November that they have acquired land in Tonala city to build a new semiconductor packaging and testing facility. Last year, the U.S. storage giant Micron Technology, Inc. announced plans to establish a new engineering and operations center in Guadalajara. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum's "Kutsari" plan aims to develop the country's semiconductor industry and improve the semiconductor design-manufacturing-testing industry chain, which includes plans to establish a new design center in Jalisco. Lemus stated that Jalisco welcomes all investments, including those from China. "We will not limit investments from any country."