Despite Trump trade rhetoric, Asian investors keep betting on U.S.: Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor Anjali Sundaram | CNBC Despite the Trump administration's combative stance toward trading partners, Asian investors continue to seek exposure to the U.S., according to Eric Cantor, vice chairman of investment bank Moelis & Company. Speaking to CNBC's " Squawk Box Asia ," Cantor said, "I do think that most of the countries in Southeast Asia,...North Asia and Japan, Korea, they want to be a partner, they want to invest in the United States." Cantor said investment flows still have "so much" allocation to the U.S. because investors recognize that the country continues to offer the protections of the "rule of law." "They realize their rights as investors, but they also want to see a U.S. presence in this region, because the opaqueness, the opacity that comes out of China is very difficult for businesses to wrestle with," he added. In Singapore, Cantor said investors are focused on maintaining dialogue with the Trump administration while looking past political rhetoric from Washington. The small city-state was subject to the Trump administration's baseline tariffs despite running a trade deficit with the U.S. Cantor said Singapore has "a real affinity" for the role the United States has played in its development, as well as the financial commitment U.S. interests have made in the country. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in 2025 that the U.S. is Singapore's largest foreign investor, with around 6,000 American companies operating in the country. U.S. …