Tech manufacturers are suspending U.S. shipments amid tariff woes

Smaller companies are shutting down shipments to the U.S. while larger manufacturers are scrambling to deal with the chaotic tariff situation.

- MICHAEL CRIDER

As the Trump administration's trade war (fave.co/4k6v3Xh) oscillates, tech manufacturers are trying to deal with the unpredictable nature of an economy held hostage to a single man's whims. But smaller, more niche businesses simply can't deal with the uncertainty of prices that might double tomorrow—so they're out, at least as far as shipping to customers in the U.S goes.

The latest example is Keyboardio, a custom keyboard shop run by two people in California. Keyboardio specializes in the kind of gorgeous, wood-cased ergonomic designs that always draw crowds at keyboard meetups. But because essential parts like PCBs come from China, even if their wooden cases are sourced from American wood, both the standard tariffs and the crackdowns on de minimis shipping exceptions make it impossible to remain profitable for U.S. sales, as the two explain in a lengthy blog post (fave.co/3Sosvbg). The post was updated four times in three days in April to deal with the U.S. and China's dueling policies.

But starting May 2, there will simply be no way to keep sales going while remaining profitable. Keyboardio announced (fave.co/4mcx5aul; spotted by Tom's Hardware, fave.co/3GJMrms) that it will “suspend all shipping to the United States until we're confident that your orders will get to you quickly and reliably.”