Silicon Valley Talks Trade With Trump Advisors

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- Silicon Valley executives are taking part in a high-stakes meeting Thursday to discuss global trade and its implications with U.S. President Donald Trump's Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

The panel includes: Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, International Business Machines Corp.’s Ginni Rometty, Oracle Corp.’s CEO Safra Catz, Microsoft Corp.’s Satya Nadella and Qualcomm Inc.’s Steve Mollenkopf, Bloomberg News reported. The president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, as well as Blackstone Group LP's Steve Schwarzman and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger are also expected to be there.

"We had a productive and engaging discussion at the White House today about America's leadership in emerging technologies. At Google, we are proud to work together with government as we develop new and innovative services and continue to invest in the U.S. and the future of the American workforce. I look forward to continuing the conversation," Pichai told Patch in a statement.

Oracle based in Redwood City has declined to comment on the meeting.

The gathering comes on the heels of a meeting Trump had with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where the two leaders had sought ways to defuse a potential trade war. The two men supposedly made progress on topics involving intellectual property, Bloomberg added.

Intellectual property is a key topic for the computer tech world that originates in California, where the gross domestic product tops $2 trillion with 10 percent of the population residing in this state. Particularly, within the Silicon Valley, the land of innovation maintains a watchful eye on the global economy are the nation's trade agreements with Canada, China and Mexico -- all in order of export numbers.

Fears have been stoked among the business tech world recently about the impacts of this administration's punitive tariffs, sketchy immigration policies and the stock market's topsy-turvy ride -- which may be sparked by the president's impulsive tweets.

Silicon Valley Organization President Matt Mahood wrote Trump a letter two years ago congratulating him on the election before launching into areas of interest and concerns the computer tech region has as the nation entered a new era of policies.

"We need free and open trade to continue to thrive," the letter reads.

Mahood turned to the same pledge with Patch on Thursday in reflecting on the high-stakes meeting between the region and the White House.

"We have long said since Trump was first elected in November 2016...that we wanted to make sure he understands the importance of open trade is to the Silicon Valley with our large trading partners," he told Patch, listing the two North American countries and Asian nation. "We have a good, solid relationship with them."

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