On Wednesday, Donald Trump, once again, took to Truth Social to abruptly shift US trade policy, announcing a 90-day pause "substantially" lowering reciprocal tariffs against all countries except China to 10 percent.Because China retaliatedraising tariffs on US imports to 84 percent on WednesdayTrump increased tariffs on China imports to 125 percent "effective immediately." That likely will not be received well by China, which advised the Trump administration to cancel all China tariffs Wednesday, NPR reported."The US's practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake," the Chinese finance ministry said, calling for Trump to "properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect."For tech companies, trying to keep up with Trump's social media posts regarding tariffs has been a struggle, as markets react within minutes.
It's not always clear what Trump's posts mean or how the math will add up, but after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified Trump's recent post, the stock market surged, CNBC reported, after slumping for days.But even though the stock market may be, for now, recovering, tech companies remain stuck swimming in uncertainty.
Ed Brzytwa, vice president of international trade for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)which represents the $505 billion US consumer technology industrytold Ars that for many CTA members, including small businesses and startups, "the damage has been done.""Our small business and startup members were uniquely exposed to these reciprocal tariffs and the whipsaw effect," Brzytwa told Ars.
"There's collateral damage to that."In a statement, CTA CEO Gary Shapiro suggested that the pause was "a victory for American consumers," but ultimately the CTA wants Trump to "fully revoke" the tariffs."While this is great news, we are hearing directly from our members that the ongoing additional 10 percent universal baseline tariffs and this continued uncertainty, are already hurting American small businesses," Shapiro said.
"CTA urges President Trump to focus his efforts on what he does best, dealmaking.
Now is the time to reposition the United States with our allies as a reliable trading partner while growing the American and global economy."