By Jeremy Beaman | spglobal.com | Updated: 2025-10-17 

The Trump administration's tariff polices are making drilling and completion equipment more expensive and could hamper companies trying to build out the power needed to win the AI race, Liberty Energy CEO Ron Gusek said Oct. 17 during a third-quarter earnings call.

Liberty, which is nurturing a burgeoning power business targeting data center loads, reported a slowdown in its oilfield services business for Q3 while stressing growth opportunities in power and announcing a target of delivering 1 GW of capacity through 2027.

Tariffs on imported steel and other materials endanger both businesses and the administration's priorities around energy production and AI, Gusek said.

"The Secretary of Energy has called the race for AI dominance our next Manhattan Project," and winning the race requires foreign-made power equipment and other components, Gusek said, invoking Liberty's founder and former CEO, Chris Wright, who now heads the US Department of Energy.

"Much of this is currently made overseas, and much of it is now subject to tariffs," he said. "Is this a path to winning a race the administration has identified is so critical to our nation's future? I would argue, no. It's a path to mediocrity at best."