TRUMP TARIFFS & TECH
INVESTIGATES
How the US President’s trade tariffs are impacting the tech sector
WRITTEN BY DAVID CROOKES
Tariffs could have a devastating impact on international trade, and on tech company supply chains.
Image credit: Apple Inc, Getty Images (vuk8691)
Trade tariff percentages quoted are correct at time of going to press but are subject to ongoing negotiations
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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 in a 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.