TRUMP TARIFFS & TECH

How the resident's trade tariTTS are impacting the tech sector

- WRITTEN BY DAVID CROOKES

Back in 2019, Apple dodged a trading bullet. Targeting Chinese-made consumer goods, President Donald Trump announced 15% tariffs on the company's flagship products including the iPhone, iPad and Mac notebooks only to see the tariffs abandoned days before they were due to be introduced. Given Apple has a massive supply chain in China, where as many as 80% of iPhones sold in the US are made today, this came as a major relief. But fast-forward to 2025 and the situation is far less certain.

The Washington-Beijing trade war is very much alive, as evidenced by Trump's decision to slap tariffs of up to 145% on goods from China. It had originally been set at 34% in addition to existing 20% levies during the so-called Liberation Day announcement in the White House Rose Garden on the 2 April 2025. But ina series of tit-for-tat moves from both governments (which saw China counter with 125% tariffs on US goods), it rose substantially, causing the tech market - among others - to become rather jittery.

One problem has been a lack of clarity. On the one hand, the US stated its intention to impose tariffs on every country in the world - including uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica - only to backtrack by issuing a blanket 10% tax for most countries and a 90-day pause on higher tariffs.

On the other hand, the US retained the high tariffs for China and later stated the tariffs would “come down substantially”, It also announced there would be an exemption for Chinaproduced smartphones, computers, semiconductors and various other electronic parts - only for the President to take to his Truth Social platform to say “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’...”

It soon became apparent that electronics would continue to be subject to a 20% rate in a different tariff “bucket” and that any exclusions would be temporary, aimed at buying time for tech companies to consider their options and preferably move manufacturing to the US.