NEWSLETTER
The technology sector, or at least a key part, breathed easier on Saturday after President Trump said several industries, including semiconductors, computer hardware and smartphones, would be exempt from the reciprocal masters established this month.
However, relief can only be temporary, according to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
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Lutnick, a key defender of tariffs to establish the manufacture of the United States, provided more information on import taxes in the technological sector on Sunday. His message renews uncertainty for the main American technology companies, including Apple, Dell and Nvidia, which depend largely on production abroad to keep costs.
Technological stocks become difficult due to rates
Consecutive returns of more than 20% of the stock market in 2023 and 2024 were largely driven by strength in the largest technological actions in the United States. The so -called Magnificent Seven, which includes Apple, Microsoft, amazon, Alphabet (Google), Meta Platforms (facebook), Nvidia and Tesla, were the best artists, partly thanks to the growing emotion about artificial intelligence.
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After Openai Chatgpt became the fastest application to reach one million users in 2022, Big tech pours billions of dollars into training and operating their own models of the ai of large languages, or chatbots of ai, and programs of agents designed to complement and, in some cases, replace workers.
The investigation has been widespread, and the ai is already having an impact.
Banks are using ai to administer risks, retailers are exploring their use in supply chains and to avoid theft, and manufacturers are evaluating their use to eliminate production bottlenecks. Even the army is in action, considering how it can provide an advantage on the battlefield.
The rapid adoption of ai has meant a significant update cycle in all technological infrastructure.
The central processing units implemented in the business and cloud networks, such as those administered by Google, amazon and Microsoft, are being replaced by graphic processing units (GPU) made by NVIDIA, more suitable to handle the enormous computing power necessary for the development of ai. Similarly, servers and computers are updating, increasing income for players such as Dell and Super Micro.
In 2025, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Google Parent Alphabet and amazon plan to spend about $ 325 on the necessary things to administer and grow their businesses, much of the ai.
However, these plans could obtain a rethink after tariffs that could increase expenses and delay the economy.
The reports are already circulating that Microsoft is slowing down their data center plans. This trend can accelerate whether the highest prices caused by tariffs weakens the economy, which leads to canceled orders.
However, the situation is not limited to the impact on the plans of these businesses. Tariffs run the risk of increasing laptops, smartphones and flat panel televisions, which could make everyday consumers repair the update of the existing electronics.
A potential deceleration has led to a generalized general sale in technological actions. Particularly difficult have been Nvidia and Apple, which have dropped 9% and 7%, respectively, only this month. In general, the magnificent and seven ETF magazines in Roundhill has dropped 18% this year, including a 3.5% drop this month.
technology obtains an exemption, but Lutnick throws doubts about the rate package
On Saturday, the concern of some technology investors was eliminated when the administration provided a guide that popular electronics, including laptops, computers, semiconductors, televisions and solar cells, is exempt from the reciprocal tariffs announced on the day of release, on April 2.
technology exemption includes imports valued at almost $ 390 billion, including more than $ 100 billion from China. A growing commercial war means that current tariffs on China imports have a total of 145%.
The exemption does not include a 20% rate in China announced before April 2. And it may not be durable, given the comments made on April 13 by the Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
Lutnick said in an ABC news interview that technological tariffs will be considered independently of reciprocal tariffs, and that “specific” sector “will be presented.
“The sector rates will not be part of the negotiations”, <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1911409906407682355″>Lutnick said. “Virtually all semiconductors are now made in Taiwan and are finished in China. It is important that we consider them. And so, the president will go out with their policies on semiconductors and pharmaceutical products. They will be out of reciprocal tariffs.”
Therefore, the sector will be treated in a similar way to cars, which are subject to a 25%rate, and pharmaceutical products, which the White House says it will also be directed separately with tariffs.
However, mixed messages of this weekend on technology rates are problematic for companies that depend on the certainty of politics to make long -range plans.
Excluding these technological products from reciprocal tariffs “took the stage of the final judgment of the table,” according to the influential technological analyst Dan Iives in “x“. “But there is still massive uncertainty, chaos and confusion about the next steps.”
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