CTA’s Shapiro Finds Tariffs to be Taxing

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2025 – The Consumer Technology Association is not a fan of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, the trade group’s CEO said Tuesday.

“Tariffs are taxes paid for by American businesses, the American people, and the world,” CTA CEO Gary Shapiro said at the group’s CES show in Las Vegas.

Shapiro pointed to research the group produced that predicted tariffs on tech products could reduce U.S. consumer buying power by as much as $143 billion over the next year, as well as bring down purchases of consumer electronics like smartphones and laptops. 

Trump has talked about blanket tariffs—fees on imports that companies typically pass on to consumers—but his most specific plan involves a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico and additional 10 percentage points added to the existing tariffs on Chinese goods. He’s said the goal is to bring manufacturers to the U.S. and gain leverage in foreign policy. 

The duties could create higher prices for goods sold by some of the companies CTA represents, like Apple and 3M. The trade group also counts major telecom carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast among its members.

“Retaliation from our trading partners raises costs, disrupts supply chains, and hurts the competitiveness of U.S. industries,” CTA Vice President of Trade Ed Brzytwa said in a statement when the research was published yesterday. “U.S. trade policy should protect consumers and help American businesses succeed globally.”

Shapiro also said Congress should “break through the gridlock and pass sensible immigration reforms to promote highly skilled immigration.” 

That hewed closer to Trump’s public statements. Some hard-line Trump supporters accused Trump donor and advisor Elon Musk, along with other tech industry figures who’ve come around to the Trump camp, of being insufficiently tough on immigration by supporting the H-1B visa program. The program issues visas to workers that often fill high-skilled jobs in the tech industry.

Trump took the tech industry’s side, telling the New York Post on Dec. 28 that “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas.”

Some CTA member companies, including AT&T, Meta, Amazon, and Uber, have been donating millions to Trump’s inauguration ceremony in recent weeks.