Trump Sets Meeting With Tech CEOs As Tariff Pressures Set In
President Trump will reportedly meet with top U.S. tech companies facing tariff-related pressure.
The CEOs of IBM, Intel, Qualcomm and HP will gather at the White House on Monday (March 10), Bloomberg News reported Thursday (March 6), citing sources familiar with the matter and a spokesperson for HP.
“Some of the topics top-of-mind for our leadership team are trade policy and U.S. manufacturing,” that spokesperson said.
As Bloomberg notes, the Trump administration is pushing several policy changes that could threaten computer hardware makers. For example, new tariffs on manufacturing centers like China could drive up costs and hinder supply chains.
In addition, the report added, tech companies are also seeking clarity about possible restrictions on their exports of technology for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, which are being constructed around the globe.
The meeting is happening as businesses from a range of sectors are feeling pressure from the tariffs, imposed on Canada, Mexico and China and covering a range of goods.
For example, a report Wednesday (March 5) by the Wall Street Journal found that toy companies are bracing themselves for the impact of the tariffs. These companies are concerned about where they will source their products, how they will stay on top of growing costs and how consumers will react to higher prices.
While some larger toymakers are renegotiating with vendors and shifting production to other countries, smaller companies have fewer options and could be forced to absorb the added costs if they cannot pass them along to buyers in the form of higher prices.
Meanwhile, Best Buy said earlier this week that tariffs on China could have a negative effect of about one point of comparable sales if they stayed in place for a full year.
“While Best Buy only directly imports 2% to 3% of our overall assortment, we expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely,” CEO Corie Barry said during the company’s earnings call.
Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that at least 60% of CFOs see their companies facing greater uncertainty and challenges due to the tariffs.
“Reconfiguring supply chains is no panacea, as it costs time and money,” PYMNTS wrote recently. “Moreover, domestic supply chains would become more competitive, as near-shoring or onshoring materials would mean greater competition for suppliers on higher demand and, thus, supply crunches.”
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