"The Magnificent Seven" - that's what the seven largest technology companies in the US are called: Google, Apple, Nvidia, Meta, Tesla, Amazon and Microsoft. But right now it would be more appropriate to call them "the shocked seven".
These American technology giants make a lot of money abroad - in the countries that the new American tariffs are now hitting hard. And they are accordingly worried about how this will affect their profits, writes the German public broadcaster ARD in a publication on its website.
In this regard, the media quoted American technology analyst Dan Ives, who called the tariffs "economic Armageddon" to CNBC: "I have spoken to so many people from the technology sector in the last few days. The biggest worry is uncertainty. What does this mean for the US AI revolution now - where are we? It's imploding and we brought it on ourselves," says Ives.
Tech companies are facing lawsuits
In recent months, many tech executives have been visibly courting Donald Trump and donating millions of dollars to his party: Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sundar Pichai of Google, and, of course, Elon Musk. Zuckerberg announced on Instagram, Facebook, and Trades that he was ending fact-checking in the US - in true Trumpian fashion.
So far, however, this has only partially paid off for Big Tech. It is true that Donald Trump has repealed rules for the development of artificial intelligence introduced by his predecessor Joe Biden. In addition, the new US Vice President J.D. Vance criticized the EU's regulation against hate speech on the Internet in Munich and expressed concerns that freedom of speech in Europe is in retreat. However, even under Trump, antitrust cases against Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple continue. Their goal is to break up or at least limit powerful corporations.
"Trump does whatever he wants"
Now, there is the chaos with Trump's tariffs. Apple is particularly affected, since its iPhones, tablets and laptops are only designed in California, but the vast majority of these devices are assembled in China.
"According to analysts, the production of an iPhone in the US would cost from 3,000 to 3,500 dollars," says Mark Gurman from Bloomberg. Apple will certainly not start production in the US, because this would be a very expensive production. Rather, production will move out of China - to countries where tariffs are significantly lower. India is one of the candidates for this, says Gurman. But despite this, products may now become more expensive, emphasizes ARD.
During Donald Trump's first term, Apple CEO Tim Cook negotiated a deal with the US government - Apple devices were exempt from tariffs. "It seems that now Trump is not talking to companies about tariff exemptions, nor does he care who was at his inauguration. He does whatever he wants," says Mark Gurman.
"The industry is against tariffs"
Ryan Petersen is the head of Flexport. The San Francisco-based company advises corporations on how to organize their supply chains. He says there is a general disregard for tariffs in the technology community. "I don't know if they are publicly opposing Trump. But the industry is against tariffs that are not economically justified and against the way they were introduced, "he said, quoted by ARD.
The chaos with tariffs has also created tension in Trump's inner circle - among his advisers. For example, technology billionaire Elon Musk called the architect of Trump's customs policy, his 75-year-old trade adviser Peter Navarro, an "idiot" and "dumber than a sack of bricks." Navarro had previously suggested that Musk was unhappy with the high import tariffs because the Tesla Group he leads needs cheap parts from abroad for its electric cars. Musk was particularly angered by Navarro's statement that his company Tesla was not actually a car manufacturer, but only assembled vehicles from external suppliers. All this only confirms that high import tariffs are leading to a rift in relations between Musk and Trump, writes ARD.
Amidst the EU's discussed retaliatory measures, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen says the American technology industry is a natural target. "These are our best companies. This would also be the right place to strike back against the United States," he believes.