September 2, 2026
WHEN: Today, Wednesday, September 2, 2026
WHERE: CNBC’s “Squawk Box”
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) today, Wednesday, September 2. Following is a link to the full video interview on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/09/02/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-commerce-secretary-howard-lutnick.html.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
LUTNICK ON DATA CENTERS
DATA CENTERS DON'T USE WATER. THEY'RE DATA CENTERS. THIS IS PROPAGANDA BY OUR ADVERSARIES TO TRY TO SLOW US DOWN. RIGHT. WE'VE GOT THE GREATEST CHIPS IN THE WORLD. WE'VE GOT THE GREATEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD. DATA CENTERS ARE REALLY WORLD CLASS PRODUCTION. BUILD A DATA CENTER, PRODUCE HUGE ECONOMICS, RIGHT. AND THAT ECONOMICS WILL GO TO THE COMMUNITY THAT SURROUNDS IT.
LUTNICK ON AI
I THINK THE MARKETS GOT IT RIGHT. I THINK THESE COMPANIES HAVE GOTTEN IT RIGHT. AND I'M PRETTY – I FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE ARE TODAY. AND I THINK WE FOUND THE WAY. REMEMBER, AMERICA LEADS IN THE FRONTIER. WE ARE THE ONES BUILDING THE GREATEST MODELS IN THE WORLD. AND WE WANT TO KEEP THAT AMERICAN INNOVATION WAY OUT ON ITS FRONT FOOT.
LUTNICK ON CANADA DEAL
FRIDAY AT FOUR O’CLOCK, THE CANADIANS CALL AND SAY – THEY START ADDING CRAZY IDEAS TO THE MIX. AND WE SAID, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? AND I SAID TO ONE OF THE MINISTERS, ARE YOU ACTUALLY TRYING TO BLOW THIS UP? AND HIS ANSWER TO ME WAS, I'M NOT ALLOWED TO SAY THAT. AND THEY BLEW IT UP FOR POLITICAL REASONS ONLY.
LUTNICK ON CANADA AND THE OECD
CANADA IS THE WORST PERFORMING OF THE OECD. YOU KNOW, YOU POINTED OUT ALL THE TIME. THEY'VE GOT GOOD PEOPLE. THEY'VE GOT GREAT RESOURCES. WHY DO THEY UNDERPERFORM?
LUTNICK ON MINING DEALS
TO SUGGEST THAT I CARE AT ALL, OR THE PRESIDENT CARES AT ALL IS JUST WRONG. I COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT THESE THINGS. ALL I CARE ABOUT IS THE BIGGER PICTURE AND ABOUT AMERICA. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? IF THE DEMOCRATS SEND ME LETTERS, I WILL RESPOND TO THE LETTERS, BUT THEY DON'T MATTER.
LUTNICK ON SEMICONDUCTORS
I HAVE $1.2 TRILLION OF COMMITMENT TO BUILD SEMICONDUCTORS IN AMERICA. WHEN WE WALKED IN, WE HAD LESS THAN 2% PRODUCTION OF SEMICONDUCTORS IN AMERICA. AND NOW WE'RE HEADING TOWARDS 40%. AND IF INTEL IS SUCCESSFUL, WHICH IT WILL BE, WE'RE GOING TO HIT 50% WHEN WE LEAVE.
LUTNICK ON TARIFFS
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IS TARGETED, THOUGHTFUL TARIFF POLICY THAT BASICALLY SAYS, IF YOU BUILD HERE, YOU DON'T PAY. BUT IF YOU DON'T BUILD HERE, EXPECT TO PAY TO ENTER THE GREATEST MARKET IN THE WORLD.
For more information contact:
Stephanie Hirlemann
CNBC
