iPhone, Switch, MacBook: Trump returns his jacket, but this time, it will hurt
End of illusion: Trump will indeed tax the electronics © Shutershock
The Trump administration swears relocation, industrial sovereignty and strategic trade war. Result: the prices of electronic devices could climb in a few weeks, even though they had just escaped a first tax train.
America is stunned: Trump finally prepares a massive tax on electronics
Howard Lunick did not go by four paths on the set ofABC :: “All these products will be reclassified under semiconductors, with a special price to ensure that they are repatriated”. Clearly, the American administration turns its back on the exemption granted a few days earlier to certain electronic devicesand prepare their integration into a tailor -made pricing grid – under the pretext of national security.
What does [le président Donald Trump]that is to say that these products are exempt from reciprocal customs duties, but that they will indeed be subject to taxes on semiconductors, which should arrive in a month or two. So yes, they arrive.
The thinning will therefore only have lasted 48 hours. Friday evening, a customs administration bulletin announced, however, that smartphones, computers, flat -screen televisions and other electronic components would be spared new taxes imposed since April 2. A decision welcomed on the stock market, but denied the following Sunday.
The age of chaos, headlined the Economist on April 11. © Shutershock
For Howard Lungick, this change of course is part of a broader strategy: to push strategic industries, in particular semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, to relocate their production to the United States. “We cannot depend on Southeast Asia for everything that operates our country”he hammered. A vision of the binary world and head -on protectionist, in the purest Trumpian tradition.
These are not things that other countries can negotiate. These are national security issues, which must be dealt with on American soil.
The problem ? This logic of industrial repatriation ignores a fundamental detail: the global electronic production chain does not reconfigure in a snap. Even with massive investments, it will take years for the United States to be able to compete with Taiwan, South Korea or China. In the meantime, it is American consumers – and undoubtedly global – who will pay the note.
A more expensive iPhone? Probably. A domino effect? Inevitable
Apple, which produces the vast majority of its devices in China, cannot indefinitely absorb new additional costs. Same bell sound for Nintendo, who has already pushed back Sweet pre -orders 2 On the American market, for fear of a tariff runaway. The short -term consequences? Price increases, a slowdown in product launches, and revived market volatility.
In parallel, diplomatic tensions with China, the main target of this policy, intensify. If Howard Lunick says he is confident about an outcome “reasonable” Between Trump and Xi Jinping, he recognizes that discussions are only in their infancy.
Donald Trump relaunches customs duties on electronics. © Shutershock
Another thorny component: the very legality of these measures. Several jurists point to a sprain in article I, section 8 of the American Constitution, which entrusts the Congress – and not to the President – the power to raise taxes. But Donald Trump is not at his first bypass: he invokes an emergency law of 1977, initially thought of crisis situations, and uses it as an economic lever.
More than a commercial showdown, it is also a form of market manipulation: each turnaround feeds market volatility, weakens tech companies, and allows the executive to weigh directly on the courses. A well orchestrated drama, where unpredictability becomes a strategy in itself.
