PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Luxury giant LVMH is

"seriously considering" bulking up its production capacities in

the United States, CEO Bernard Arnault said on Tuesday, praising

a "wind of optimism" in the country that contrasted with the

"cold shower" of potentially higher corporate taxes in France.

LVMH, which makes billions selling "made in France" luxury

goods from leather handbags to champagne to the world, so far

has little production capacity in the United States besides

three Louis Vuitton workshops and some Tiffany jewelry-making

sites.

But Arnault, who is also LVMH's main shareholder, said he

was open to increasing the company's footprint in the United

States soon.

"It's clear that we are being strongly pushed by the American

authorities to continue to build out our presence. In the

current context, this is something that we're looking at

seriously," he said, speaking to journalists after the company

presented quarterly results.

Arnault and his family attended President Donald Trump's

inauguration for a second term earlier this month.

Arnault and wife Helene Mercier and well as two of his children,

Delphine Arnault and Alexandre Arnault, sat just a few metres

from Trump's lectern, alongside other billionaires including

Tesla founder Elon Musk and Meta Platforms ( META )

boss Mark Zuckerberg.

Arnault, who early in his career worked as a real estate

developer in the United States after he left France following

the election of leftist President Francois Mitterrand, has known

Trump for decades. Arnault had criticized Mitterand as

anti-business.

During Trump's first term, Arnault invited him to cut the

ribbon at a new Louis Vuitton leather atelier in Alvarado,

Texas.

Arnault said U.S.-based factories benefit from attractive

tax conditions and that Trump is encouraging investments in what

he called a "very dynamic" market.

At the same time, Arnault - France's richest man - voiced

frustration about his home country's bureaucracy and recent

plans to additionally tax large companies to plug a hole in the

state budget.

"I've just come back from the U.S. where you can see the

wind of optimism going through the country. And when you come

back to France after spending a few days in the U.S., it's a bit

of a cold shower, I have to say."

The U.S. market, where the French conglomerate employs more

than 40,000 people, is key for LVMH, accounting for 25% of group

sales.