In case you've been living under a rock, you'll be aware of the current major 'trade war' which is enveloping global trade and decimating markets across the planet. President Trump has imposed tariffs - reciprocal tariffs - on every nation on earth and the impact has been... significant.
I do wonder how much of this flip-flop from Trump has been down to pressure from his tech oligarch mates: Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg. But after originally slapping 145% tariffs on Chinese imports earlier this month, Trump has now quietly exempted smartphones, computers, chips, and a bunch of other electronics. The exemption includes semiconductors, SSDs, flash drives, TV panels, and solar cells. Basically, all the hardware that would’ve caused immediate chaos for big tech.
The official line is that companies need “time to move production to the U.S.” In practice, it looks more like tech CEOs picked up the phone and raised their concerns to the Administration. Apple makes over half its Macs and nearly all iPhones in China. Without this move, their entire product line was on the chopping block. Same goes for everyone else relying on Chinese fabs and assembly lines.
Trump’s still pushing a reshoring narrative, but the pressure’s off for now. Investors are calling it a win. Tech got what it wanted. The question is how long the exemption lasts before tariffs get used as a bargaining chip again.
I do wonder how much of this flip-flop from Trump has been down to pressure from his tech oligarch mates: Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg. But after originally slapping 145% tariffs on Chinese imports earlier this month, Trump has now quietly exempted smartphones, computers, chips, and a bunch of other electronics. The exemption includes semiconductors, SSDs, flash drives, TV panels, and solar cells. Basically, all the hardware that would’ve caused immediate chaos for big tech.
The official line is that companies need “time to move production to the U.S.” In practice, it looks more like tech CEOs picked up the phone and raised their concerns to the Administration. Apple makes over half its Macs and nearly all iPhones in China. Without this move, their entire product line was on the chopping block. Same goes for everyone else relying on Chinese fabs and assembly lines.
Trump’s still pushing a reshoring narrative, but the pressure’s off for now. Investors are calling it a win. Tech got what it wanted. The question is how long the exemption lasts before tariffs get used as a bargaining chip again.