How the escalating U.S.-China tariff war is forcing PCs, consoles and other gadgets out of the U.S. market
For U.S. companies with OEMs in China regions, the math is changing fast.
Tariffs were always going to sting, but now we’re starting to see just how deep the cut might go.
For American tech companies and anyone who buys their products, this isn’t some abstract economic debate anymore. It’s here, it’s real, and it’s already forcing decisions.
An Escalating Trade War
This week, the U.S.-China trade war escalated. President Trump announced a reciprocal tariff hike on imports from China (up to 104%) and Taiwan (up to 34%)— two countries essential to the global electronics supply chain. These hikes mean higher costs on everything from laptops to components, and it’s already rippling through the market.
For many American companies with OEMs in these regions, the calculation is now about whether it still makes sense to build or sell certain devices in the U.S. at all when you have to pay almost double for the same units.
That’s the calculation PC maker Razer seems to be making right now.
This week, without warning, the gaming hardware company yanked several of its laptops from its U.S. website. The Blade 16, one of its flagship models, quietly lost its pre-order option. What’s left in its place is a vague “Notify Me” button. Also, the once-detailed configuration page now leads to a 404 error page. You can still order the same laptop in Europe and Canada. But in the U.S., it’s vanished from the store.
And it’s not just the Blade 16. By Tuesday, the 14-, 16-, and 18-inch Razer laptops, plus the new adjustable laptop stand, were all marked as out of stock for U.S. shoppers. The only things left are skins, cooling pads, and docks. Basically, the extras.
Razer hasn’t come out to say this is because of the tariffs. But they don’t need to. The timing does all the talking.
With the tariffs already in effect for tech companies like Razer, that means the cost to build or import a device has jumped overnight. And unless they want to eat that cost, something has to give.
U.S. Companies Reassess Strategies
Meanwhile, Framework, a relatively smaller laptop maker, made that exact point. The company pulled specific models from its U.S. site and explained that it priced its laptops assuming a 0% tariff. At 10%, they'd be selling at a loss.
They're not alone. Nintendo hit pause on Switch 2 pre-orders in the U.S. Chip maker Micron is adding surcharges to select memory chips. Automobile manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover has stopped shipping some cars to the States altogether.
Oluwaseun Bamisile
Apple also reportedly flew five plane loads of iPhones into the U.S. just to beat the tariff deadline before Wednesday. The shipments came in over three days, giving the company a few months of tariff-free inventory to work with.. But once that runway ends, iPhone costs could reach as much as $2,300, PCMag estimates. For perspective, the current top-end model, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, tops out at $1,599. That’s a potential $700 jump, driven purely by policy.
That’s the kind of scramble this policy shift has triggered.
Broader Industry Impact
To grasp the scale of what’s at stake, in 2024, the U.S. exported $143.5 billion of goods to China while importing approximately $439 billion in goods, according to the U.S. trade department, making it the second-largest source of U.S. imports after Mexico. This massive flow of goods show just how deeply intertwined the U.S. tech industry is with Chinese manufacturing.
Meanwhile, China has taken a hard-line stance and slapped a retaliatory 84% tariff on U.S. goods in response to Trump's hike. Analysts predict that the tit-for-tat escalation of tariffs will increase the odds of slower economic growth, higher inflation and lower corporate profits.
So far, prices haven’t jumped. Most companies are sitting on inventory that made it across the border in time. But once that buffer runs out, it’s only a matter of time before we all feel the impact.
And that’s the thing: this isn’t just about import duties on a spreadsheet. It could dictate whether the U.S. stays competitive in the tech world as it reduces its reliance on global supply chains. If companies can’t make the math work in the U.S., they won’t stay. That means fewer options and higher prices for tech lovers in the U.S.
