Buy Your Tech Now Before Trump Tariffs Make it Too Expensive

All your favorite tech is soon going to hit the wall of tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump. Already, the tariffs are forcing Nintendo to revise its Switch 2 preorder timeline, potentially making an expensive $450 handheld console even more expensive. If you want to buy a new laptop, phone, light, or practically any electronic, you should do it now, or else hold off buying anything new until the next hair-brained scheme snails its way from the Trump White House.

Trump’s White House implemented its tariff scheme on Wednesday, but “Liberation Day,” as the president called it, was met by confusion from the get-go. Eventually, reporters managed to confirm a 10% on practically every country or landmass the world over, including the uninhabited Heard and McDonald islands. The tariffs, epitomized by a 54% tariff on Chinese goods, are based on an obtuse mathematical formula that doesn’t make a lot of sense but does make gadgets a lot pricier.

Other neighboring countries like Vietnam (46% tariff), Cambodia (49%), and Taiwan (32%) were some of the hardest hit by Trump’s decree. Unfortunately these are some of the countries that tech companies rely on most for manufacturing. Big tech firms invested heavily in Vietnamese manufacturing since the trade war between the U.S. and China started heating up last time Trump was in office. U.S. Census Bureau data shows the country counts as the sixth top source for imported goods to the U.S.

Tech firms both big and small each have to determine how much of the cost they need to pass onto the consumer versus how much of the difference they want to eat themselves. Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, told The Verge companies are going to be incentivized to lay “a good share” of the cost of tariffs onto downstream consumers.

The only saving grace is that consumers have a small, shrinking window when they can buy some electronics before the price increases start in earnest. Miller told The Verge that companies have imported 70% more products into the U.S. over the past few months than in the same time in 2023. So for now, you may still find all your tech at the pre-tariff price.

But don’t expect the current prices to last. It’s better to assume companies will raise prices sooner rather than later. In February, major PC and device maker Acer announced it was raising prices by around 10% due to tariffs. It’s only a matter of time before they go even higher.

If you want another scary example of how tech could get much more expensive in the months ahead, look at Apple. Apple relies on Vietnam for much of its manufacturing. A report from Reuters based on industry analyst predictions proposed a $1,142 price tag for the iPhone 17 under these new tariffs. That’s close to $350 more expensive than an $800 iPhone 16. The highest-end iPhone Pro Max with max 1 TB storage might cost close to $2,300 using the same math.

The Cheeto-in-chief suggested on Friday he could impose tariffs specifically targeting semiconductors “very soon.” This would take already expensive tech and make it untenable for most consumers in the U.S.

The idea is these tariffs are supposed to bring manfucaturing back to the U.S, but it won’t happen overnight. It takes time to build up the manufacturing apparatus, especially something as complicated as chips. Intel is set to receive $7.9 billion from the U.S. through the CHIPS act enacted under the tenure of President Joe Biden. The company was building an Ohio chip foundry, but that project has been delayed to an expected opening date of 2030. Trump recently pushed an executive order that would punish companies by withholding CHIPS funding if they didn’t invest in U.S. manufacturing.

So yes, your phones, tablets, and laptops with all their silicon could get way, way more expensive if Trump follows through on additional tariffs, but that’s not all. As noted by CNN, modern cars rely on more than 1,000 semiconductor chips with some having over 3,000.

There’s no upside here. The tariffs are already incentivizing layoffs at companies like Stellantis. So while economic uncertainty may be pushing you to hold off on any spending sprees, wouldn’t you rather be unemployed with a Steam Deck than without a Steam Deck?