tariffs are coming

do they matter for tech?

AuthorAuthor

Amber Rhodes & Dillon Young
February 28, 2025 • Est. Reading Time: 6 minutes

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TL;DR

  • Will the upcoming tariffs affect the tech industry? Here’s what we know.

  • Learn to diffuse the pissed off bomb 💣

  • Celebrities…they’re not like us at all!

Let's talk shop 🔧

So much going on!

The tariffs are coming! The tariffs are coming!

Here’s what you need to know, and how they might impact the tech industry:

What even are the planned tariffs?

  • President Trump’s planned tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China will take effect next Tuesday, March 4th. These tariffs were originally announced under executive orders signed on Feb 1st of this year. 

  • Everyone is still awaiting the April 2nd deadline for reciprocal tariffs (that means if they charge the US tariffs, the US will now charge them back) that could include a tax on computer chips.

How will this impact tech?

  • The cost of hardware could go up. For example, earlier this month, computer company Acer shared that new tariffs would mean a 10% price hike for consumers.

  • On the flipside, experts don’t anticipate the same linear impact on AI products due to the high demand and comfortable profit margins. 

  • Taiwan is a huge manufacturer of chips that power phones and laptops – and while the tariffs are meant to be a push to bring chip manufacturing to the US, it could pass costs onto customers. 

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🖥️ What else is happening in tech?

  • Which companies are rolling back AI, and which ones are sticking with their DEI initiatives? 

  • Revolutionizing RIFs? This software could be used to conduct mass firings of federal workers. 

  • No one asked for this! Grok’s “unhinged” mode can bring NSFW answers to your AI chats.

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Visit sundaysky.com/cs for more details.

Pissed off customers got you down?

TDSU offers 12 (13?) steps to de-escalation

How to master customer de-escalation.

Learn more →

Let’s dish 🤭

Girl group in space!

Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, is launching Katy Perry and Bezos’ fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, into space!

This isn’t Blue Origin’s first civilian flight into space, but what makes this trip stand out is its all-female celebrity crew. 

Who else will be on board?

  • TV journalist and Oprah’s bestie, Gayle King

  • Former NASA scientist, Aisha Bowe

  • Research scientist, Amanda Nguyen

  • Movie producer, Kerianne Flynn

What an interesting collection of women, right? I wonder what they’ll talk about on the ride 💅

The space flight doesn’t have a set launch date yet, but it’s not too early to build a road trip playlist, IMHO! Here’s my submission.

🫖 What's the tea?

  • Kinda cool, kinda gross…some scientists found bits of brain that had been preserved into glass in the Vesuvius volcanic eruption.

  • Say it with me: No! More! Freeloaders! AT&T is introducing a new payment option that will let you split your phone payments with other people on your plan.

  • Today in niche B2B SaaS gossip: What’s with this company’s sketchy Tesla giveaway?

See you next week! 👋

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