Policy shifts disrupt tech procurement for CIOs – Computerworld

Faisal Kawoosa, co-founder and lead analyst at Techarc said, “No decision maker would have the capacity to decide with so much volatility. As a measure, there were only two options left: buy mission-critical things before the deadline and defer others until things become clear.”

Escalating the tariff war

The dizzying sequence began on April 2 when Trump imposed a 54% tariff on Chinese imports before quickly escalating to the current 145% rate. In response, China implemented its own retaliatory measures, starting at 34% on US goods before increasing to 84% and finally to 125%, which took effect on Saturday.

On April 11, US Customs and Border Protection announced tariff exemptions for 20 product categories, covering computers, laptops, smartphones, memory chips, and flat panel displays – providing temporary relief to tech companies. The relief proved exceptionally brief, with Trump’s weekend announcement effectively reversing course less than 72 hours later.