Technology
|
Technology
|
|
|
Trump tariffs threaten to disrupt tech industry
|
The tech industry is set to feel the pinch as the Trump administration levies new tariffs against key U.S. trading partners.
|
Tech stocks dropped 3.7 percent on Monday, as President Trump indicated that he would not back down from his plans to implement import taxes on products from Canada, Mexico and China. They began to climb back up Tuesday after an initial dip.
The U.S. imposed 25 percent tariffs against both Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, as well as an additional 10 percent tariff against China. Beijing faced an initial 10 percent tariff last month, while both Canada and Mexico were able to secure a one-month delay.
While markets rebounded Wednesday after Trump announced he would reel in some of his recent tariffs, the tech sector is still facing several threats.
The tariffs throw a wrench in the flow of consumer electronics, the vast majority of which are made in China, said Chris Rogers, head of supply chain research at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Mexico is also a key supplier of consumer electronics for the U.S.
“You’re not going to be able overnight, if you’re making your electronics in China, to go buy them somewhere else or go make them somewhere else,” Rogers told The Hill. “That’s going to take quite a long time to do.”
As all three countries prepare to enact retaliatory tariffs, U.S. exports in the tech sector are also likely to take a hit.
Canada plans to respond with 25 percent tariffs, while Mexico said it would respond with retaliatory tariffs by Sunday.
China enacted tariffs between 10 and 15 percent on a range of American agricultural products. While Beijing has thus far not taken aim at the tech sector with retaliatory tariffs, it has targeted U.S. tech firms, like Google, with antitrust investigations.
Read more of what experts are saying about the risks for global supply chains in a full report at TheHill.com tomorrow morning.
|
Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.
|
|
|
How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:
|
|
|
President Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night has already made its way into court, with a group of plaintiffs seeking to dismantle the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) quickly latching onto the remarks. “DOGE — perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps,” Trump said during his address. “Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.” In court, the administration has repeatedly …
|
|
|
|
Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s America PAC launched its first ever television ad on Wednesday following President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. “After four long years of humiliation, a failure at home, and embarrassment abroad, our long, national nightmare is over. Strength is back, common sense is back, America is back,” the ad’s narrator says, echoing the theme of Trump’s Tuesday evening address. The …
|
|
|
|
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Elon Musk’s request to block OpenAI from becoming a for-profit company, finding the tech billionaire failed to show he was likely to succeed on the merits of the case. However, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she is prepared to expedite the trial in the case to the fall of 2025 “given the public interest at stake and potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law …
|
|
|
|
The U.S. government has charged 10 Chinese hackers-for-hire and two of the country’s security officials in a scheme to steal data from American entities and dissidents of the Chinese government, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday. “Today, we are exposing the Chinese government agents directing and fostering indiscriminate and reckless attacks against computers and networks worldwide, as well as the enabling …
|
|
|
|
Welcome to Crypto Corner, a new feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.
|
© Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
|
A push for crypto education
|
As Washington largely embraces the crypto industry, one major crypto player is hoping to get Americans across the country on board.
Cryptocurrency platform Ripple is launching a nonprofit, The National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), focused on educating Americans about the digital assets space.
The NCA will offer educational tools and resources about crypto, share stories from crypto users and provide crypto data and statistics in an effort to boost accessibility to the industry.
“We think that it’s important to make crypto accessible to the everyday American and demystify crypto,” NCA president and Ripple chief legal officer Stu Alderoty told The Hill. “There has been a narrative around crypto, that it’s complex, it’s geeky, crypto bros, etc.”
“Now I think more than ever, crypto is going mainstream, but there is a gap out there,” he continued.
The move follows a years-long push by the industry to build trust with the American public after a series of scandals roiled its reputation.
While the White House and many lawmakers have changed their views on crypto, members of the broader public may need more convincing.
The NCA emphasized it is not a political or lobbying organization and does not represent crypto companies or protocols.
|
|
|
News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
|
|
|
-
Former NSA official says federal worker cuts will have 'devastating impact' on cybersecurity (TechCrunch)
-
Google tests AI-only version of search engine (Reuters)
|
|
|
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
|
|
|
The Department of Defense is denying reports Secretary Pete Hegseth halted offensive cyber operations against Russia. “TO BE CLEAR: @SecDef has neither canceled nor delayed any cyber operations directed against malicious Russian targets and there has been no stand-down order whatsoever from that priority,” the Pentagon’s rapid response team posted Tuesday on the social platform X. The statement follows multiple …
|
|
|
Two key stories on The Hill right now:
|
|
|
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s rhetoric on Texas’s measles outbreak is concerning physicians, who fear his public … Read more
|
|
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 emergency ruling Wednesday refused to halt a judge’s decision ordering the Trump administration to immediately release nearly … Read more
|
|
|
|
You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!
Save story
-
The imposition of tariffs on Mexico and Canada represents a violation of the USMCA and could trigger a tariff war, experts say.
Wired - 1d
-
President Trump's tariffs are already putting pressure on multiple Canadian industries. CBS News national correspondent Lana Zak spoke about the issue with the leader of the Windsor-Essex Chamber ...
CBS News - 14h
-
US president warns levies will target auto sector and be applied ‘generally’
Financial Times - Feb. 26
-
President Trump on Tuesday threatened to add additional taxes on Canada if the U.S.'s northern neighbor Canada retaliates with its own, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slammed Trump’s ...
The Hill - 1d
-
The exemption was granted at the request of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
ABC News - 10h
-
US president’s plan could prove to be an economic shock to both blocs, German thinktank says. Business live – latest updates Donald Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger ...
The Guardian - 6d
-
US president also insists delayed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go into effect on 4 March. US politics live – latest updates Donald Trump has threatened China with an ...
The Guardian - 6d
-
Chevrolet Silverado’s complex supply chain leaves it particularly vulnerable to a looming trade war
Financial Times - 3d
-
Investors dumped stocks on Wall Street late Monday after President Donald Trump said his threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go forward as planned early Tuesday.
NBC News - 2d
-
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Wednesday slammed President Trump’s address to Congress in an interview on CNN, referring to the speech as “reality TV.” “Look, it was what I expected, it was reality ...
The Hill - 4h
-
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said during an interview that her “This is not normal” sign she held up near President Trump right before his Tuesday night speech to Congress was an “SOS to the ...
The Hill - 5h
-
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk met with House Republicans Wednesday night to update them on work done by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as the newly created group takes ...
The Hill - 6h
-
Trump drew laughs during his congressional address Tuesday when he alleged that the Social Security Administration (SSA) had millions of beneficiaries listed at 140 years of age and older. But is ...
The Hill - 6h
-
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) said Wednesday he’s holding a town hall despite House Republicans being recently pushed to avoid in-person town halls and do phone or livestreamed ones instead. “I'm ...
The Hill - 6h
-
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Wednesday slammed President Trump’s address to Congress in an interview on CNN, referring to the speech as “reality TV.” “Look, it was what I expected, it was reality ...
The Hill - 4h
-
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said during an interview that her “This is not normal” sign she held up near President Trump right before his Tuesday night speech to Congress was an “SOS to the ...
The Hill - 5h
-
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk met with House Republicans Wednesday night to update them on work done by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as the newly created group takes ...
The Hill - 6h
-
Trump drew laughs during his congressional address Tuesday when he alleged that the Social Security Administration (SSA) had millions of beneficiaries listed at 140 years of age and older. But is ...
The Hill - 6h
-
House Republicans are pursuing a stopgap measure to keep the government funded through September, with just 10 days left to head off a shutdown.
CBS News - 6h
| | | |
