Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
The tech industry is bracing for impact from President Trump's tariffs.
The big picture: Trump's tariffs are expected to raise prices on tech like laptops and cell phones.
- Trump has long been fixated on tariffs, and now he's following through on his campaign trade pledges.
- Buckle up: Trump said repeatedly over the last week that tariffs on foreign-made chips are coming soon on his list.
What they're saying: "Misusing tariffs alienates our allies, aggravates our adversaries, closes markets to U.S. exports and investments, and weakens the global trading system that has powered America's economic growth for decades," Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro said in a statement.
- Information Technology Industry Council CEO Jason Oxman: "We urge the Trump Administration to aim for clear, constructive outcomes in its negotiations with foreign governments, avoid trade restrictions and weakened North American economic ties to the extent possible, and roll back the tariffs when outcomes are achieved."
- Semiconductor industry groups SIA and SEMI did not respond to requests for comment as of publication time.
The latest: Trump on Monday posted that the U.S. would pause tariffs on Mexico for "a one month period during which we will have negotiations."
- Trump this weekend had announced a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and most from Canada would go into effect on Tuesday, along with an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
- Trump declared a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act and imposed these tariffs under IEEPA.
- A president has never used IEEPA to impose tariffs before, so expect legal challenges.
"Eventually we're going to put tariffs on chips. We're going to put tariffs on oil and gas, that'll happen fairly soon. I think around the 18th of February," Trump said Friday in the Oval Office.
- Earlier last week he told House Republicans at their retreat that chips tariffs would be coming "in the very near future."
- On the campaign trail, he told "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast that he wanted to impose high tariffs to make chip manufacturers build factories in the U.S: "You tariff it so high that they will come and build their chip companies for nothing."
What's next: Trump could go the IEEPA route on chips tariffs to try to avoid the procedural restraints and limits on scope that other trade authorities require.
- This move would likely face legal challenges.
- The Commerce Department could otherwise have to launch either a Section 232 national security investigation for chips tariffs or collaborate with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on a Section 301 economic burden investigation — both of which could take up to a year.
