Foxconn Considering Building Plant in U.S.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, is considering setting up a display-making plant in the United States in an investment that would exceed $7 billion, the company’s chairman and chief executive, Terry Gou, said Sunday.

The plans come after President Trump pledged to put “America first” in his inauguration speech on Friday, prompting Mr. Gou to warn about the rise of protectionism and a trend for politics to underpin economic development.

Mr. Gou said that Foxconn, based in Taiwan, had been considering such a move for years. But the issue came up when a Foxconn business partner, Masayoshi Son, talked to Mr. Gou before a December meeting that Mr. Son had with Mr. Trump. Mr. Son is the head of SoftBank Group, based in Japan.

As a result of the meeting, Mr. Son pledged $50 billion of investment in the United States and inadvertently disclosed information showing Foxconn’s logo and an unspecified additional $7 billion investment. At the time, Foxconn issued a brief statement saying it was in preliminary discussions to expand its American operations, without elaborating.

“I thought it was a private conversation, but then the next morning, it was exposed,” Mr. Gou said. “There is such a plan, but it is not a promise. It is a wish.”

Mr. Gou also said that Mr. Son — “a good friend” — had asked for his views about investing in the United States.

Mr. Gou said he had told Mr. Son that the United States had no panel-making industry but that it was the second-largest market for televisions. An investment for a display plant would exceed $7 billion and could create 30,000 to 50,000 jobs, Mr. Gou said he told Mr. Son.

Foxconn’s proposal to build a display plant, which would be planned with its Sharp unit, depends on many factors, such as investment conditions, that would have to be negotiated at the state and federal levels in the United States, Mr. Gou said.

Foxconn has existing cooperation and operations in Pennsylvania, which is a state Foxconn would make a priority, depending on land, water, power, infrastructure and other investment conditions, Mr. Gou said.

Mr. Gou added that Foxconn would also remain active in China, dispelling talk that Beijing was pressuring Foxconn about its investments.

Taiwan’s tech-dominated manufacturers have been nervous about potential American trade policies because Mr. Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on imports from some countries, notably China.

Foxconn is one of the biggest employers in China, where it operates factories that manufacture most of Apple’s iPhones.