If you’ve been considering buying a newlaptop,gaming console, orsmartphone, you may want to do so sooner rather than later – the reason is potential tariffs.
Recently, US President Donald Trump said that his administration plans to put tariffs on foreign-made computer chips and semiconductors in the “near future.” Trump made the commentsduring a speechto the House Republican Issues Conference.
“In particular, in the very near future, we’re going to be placing tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals to return production of these essential goods to the United States.” Trump said. you may watch the video below.
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What the tariff rate would be is unclear
There is a risk some tech products in the US could become more expensive
Trump’s justification for tariffs is to incentivize companies to bolster the production of computer chips in the US. In 2022, President Joe Biden signed theCHIPS and Science Act, which promised to invest over $52 billion in domestic chip manufacturing. Trump slammed the CHIPs act for handing out money to companies that are already rich.
If tariffs are imposed on chips manufactured in Taiwan, there is a risk that some tech products in the US could see a price hike, like TVs, phones,graphics cards, andprocessors. Last year, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)released a report(viaTechCrunch) that says Trump’s proposed tariffs could increase the price of laptops and tablets by 46 percent, smartphones by 26 percent, and gaming consoles by 40 percent. If the tariffs are in place when theSwitch 2comes out, it could affect the console’s price. This tweet sums it up best:
The tariff rate remains uncertain, butBloomberg reportsthat Trump told reporters it would be “much bigger” than 2.5 percent. So, if you’re interested in a tech product with foreign-made chips or semiconductors, consider buying it sooner rather than later to avoid any uncertainty. Trump also spoke aboutDeepSeek, an AI app that recently hit number one on the App Store. He called the app’s recent success a “wake-up call” for the AI industry in the US.
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