Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Tech industry winners and losers are emerging amid the Trump administration's flurry of trade moves this week.
Why it matters: President Trump's chaotic approach to trade and industrial policy is making it far from certain whether the tech industry's bet on this administration will pay off.
Here's a look at the recent trade moves that could upend the tech industry.
1. Copper tariffs: Trump this week said he'll impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, which would heavily impact data centers that rely on the metal for their cooling and power distribution systems.
- "Copper is necessary for Semiconductors, Aircraft, Ships, Ammunition, Data Centers, Lithium-ion Batteries, Radar Systems, Missile Defense Systems, and even, Hypersonic Weapons, of which we are building many," Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday.
- "Why did our foolish (and SLEEPY!) 'Leaders' decimate this important Industry?"
What they're saying: "This is a terrible idea and will have a significant impact on the tech sector," said the Cato Institute's Matt Mittelsteadt. "Fundamentally, digital technology and AI rely on data centers — and data centers depend on copper."
- Peterson Institute for International Economics' Cullen Hendrix told Axios the larger companies will be able to bear increased copper prices more easily than the smaller players and the tariffs could ultimately delay construction.
2. Semiconductor tariffs: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Section 232 national security investigation will be completed at the end of this month and Trump will announce details on tariffs then.
- "He's said if you don't build in America they're going to be a high rate," Lutnick said Tuesday on CNBC.
- "But he may consider that if you're building in America, to give you time to build … say a year, year and a half, possibly even two years of building, and then the tariff will be much higher."
Flashback: The semiconductor industry scored a couple of key wins in the reconciliation bill that Trump signed into law last week with provisions aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing.
- Lawmakers increased the advanced manufacturing investment credit from 25% to 35% and restored the full deductibility of domestic R&D expenditures.
3. Digital Services Taxes: After Trump got Canada to stand down on its digital services taxes by halting trade talks with the country, the tech industry started closely watching to see if the administration would follow the same playbook for other deals.
- Governments across the world collected $2.8 billion from digital service taxes in 2024, per new data released by CCIA, and approximately $9.1 billion in the last five years across the U.K., France, Italy, Spain and Canada.
- CCIA said in a statement it "was active in providing calculations to the White House on the cost of Canada's DSTs ahead of President Trump's announcement which led to negotiations ending the taxes."
What we're watching: Digital trade is likely to keep playing a role in how deals with other countries get hashed out, and we're tracking what happens with Japan, South Korea and Brazil next.
- A South Korean lawmaker told Reuters on Monday it would likely "slow down" its plans for tech antitrust legislation in light of sensitive trade talks.
- Trump called for a Section 301 investigation and cited Brazil's digital trade and social media policies in his letter to the country announcing tariffs.
