In recent weeks, the US Government has imposed a range of tariffs on goods imported from other countries. The move looks to drive manufacturing and other industries back onto American soil, with President Trump encouraging the country's residents to buy American products.
These tariffs are imposed on a country-by-country basis, with higher levies hitting some than others. It's of particular concern for tech manufacturers, including the makers of phones, laptops and more.
Some of the biggest producers in the tech industry include China, which is hit with a 34% tax, Taiwan, which gets a marginally lighter 32% levy, India at 26% and South Korea at 25%. A full list can be found via this handy list on The Guardian website.
How do the tariffs work?
The tariffs in question can be thought of as a tax on goods imported to a particular country – in this case, the USA. Let's say I make steel, and I would usually sell it for £10. With the tariff imposed, my cost to import rises – from the UK, it rises by 10% – which means I now need to sell at £11 to maintain the same profit margin.
That example doesn't seem too bad. The UK is among a suite of countries hit with a 10% levy – the lowest of any on the list. But let's take, for example, China. There, the 34% tariff means my £10 piece of steel now costs £13.40. Move that from pocket money to millions and you get an idea of the issue facing American consumers.
Will tariffs cause the price of tech to rise?
There's no one exact answer here, but it's tough to see any way where prices won't go up. Many of the devices we use every day are linked to Asian countries, whether that's the place of manufacture or just the place where most of the components are created.
That means that the import price of many goods and services will go up. In theory, that cost could be absorbed – in whole or in part – by the companies. However, that doesn't seem especially likely.
The more important question is not if prices will rise, but by how much. That's a little harder to predict because we haven't got any examples to go on.
While it would be simple to say that the price of a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will rise by 25% to account for the South Korean tariff, there's no guarantee that the end result will be anything close to that straightforward.
The iPhone case study
As we speak, Apple appears to be implementing one strategy to circumvent the rules with its iPhone. For a few years now, we've seen manufacturing of these devices slowly start to move to India – and that might be a more familiar sight.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Apple is considering shipping more of its iPhone stock from India rather than China, in a bid to lessen the impact of the tariffs. That's something which may become more commonplace over the coming months, as brands seek to minimise the additional costs for the end consumer.
The Nintendo Switch 2 case study
Another product which is worth keeping an eye on is the Nintendo Switch 2. That was only unveiled last week, and is set to arrive in the hands of users in the coming months.
However, due to the impact of the tariffs, the device won't be available to pre-order in the USA in the same timeframe. The company is based in Japan, which suffered a 24% tariff.
With this playing out in real time, it will be interesting to see what happens next. As with every other device mentioned here, there's really no telling what will happen, but it will undoubtedly become a barometer for the rest of the tech industry.
