However, the tariff measures announced by Trump on so-called "Liberation Day" conveyed a completely different message. According to Bloomberg, Trump's "tariff stick" severely hit Oracle's stock price because tariffs affected the company's ability to establish data centers required for rapid AI projects.
The report pointed out that these were early warning signals. Trump's tariffs could trigger a series of chain reactions, undermining America's efforts in artificial intelligence.
Although semiconductors are not yet listed in the tariff list, analysts believe this will not have any practical impact. "There is no doubt that the equipment for data centers will become more expensive." Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson, said. Analysts from UBS Group noted that graphics processing units (GPUs) belong to the non-exempt category. UBS estimates that the price of servers imported from Taiwan will rise by 27%.
Another issue is distraction. The funds and reasons for tech giants to enter AI come from the strength of their core businesses, which are currently under threat and require full attention from CEOs.
Bloomberg gave an example: Meta's investment in AI is supported by its important income source - advertising, while ads from China account for 10% of Meta's revenue. Companies like SHEIN and Temu attract Western buyers through large-scale ads on Facebook and Instagram. However, Trump's trade war may prompt these two companies to reduce or even abandon their ad spending. Meanwhile, e-commerce companies will find imported goods more expensive, which will trouble Amazon's store, as Chinese sellers account for more than half of all third-party sellers on Amazon.
On January 21, 2025, local time, Trump (left) announced a major AI investment plan at the White House. From right: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank; and Larry Ellison, one of the founders of Oracle. Bloomberg
For Apple, the biggest headache for CEO Tim Cook is how to save the company's poor progress in artificial intelligence. Now, he must focus on reorganizing Apple's complex supply chain to minimize the impact of tariffs on iPhone, iPad, and other products.
During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on a large number of Chinese imports to force American companies to relocate production bases back to the United States or neighboring countries such as Mexico. Cook successfully lobbied for exemptions for some of Apple's products at that time. Cook argued that tariffs would harm American companies while benefiting foreign competitors like Samsung Electronics.
However, this time, Cook's effort to secure exemptions for the company's products seems to have failed. Therefore, he is now seeking to move more assembly products to lower-tariff places like India and Brazil. To minimize the cost increase caused by tariffs, Apple also chose to urgently ship iPhone products from India to the United States before the new tariff policy took effect.
According to Indian media The Times of India, citing senior personnel from Apple Inc., the company arranged five flights within three days at the end of March to transport Apple products, including iPhones, from India to the United States by air.
Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at Bank of America Corp, told The Wall Street Journal that even if India does its best to produce iPhones, it can only meet 50% of U.S. demand this year. Supporters of the "tough" tariff plan pointed out that this was an opportunity to start domestic manufacturing; Trump believed that the U.S. could manufacture iPhones itself. However, for Apple, this is not feasible. An analyst estimated that unless Apple believes consumers are willing to pay over $3500 for a new iPhone.
Rosenblatt Securities analysts calculated that if Apple transfers costs to consumers, the most expensive iPhone 16 Pro Max (6.9-inch screen + 1TB storage) price will rise from the current $1599 to nearly $2300. IC Photo
The report pointed out that Trump's tariff measures will slow down America's self-sufficiency and may accelerate the escalation of the situation, limiting American technicians' access to any kind of semiconductor. This may weaken the technology ecosystem.
Even avoiding the worst-case scenario, the entire U.S. technology industry will feel the chain reaction brought by tariffs, changing the calculation method for small companies using artificial intelligence for development. Andrew McLoughlin, managing partner of Uncork Capital, said, "Supply constraints may make American companies more creative in using GPUs because they no longer have an endless supply of chips." He believed that the new economic order might force the U.S. artificial intelligence industry to compete under conditions that China once faced, rather than utilizing its own advantages.
The report noted that when DeepSeek first emerged, the chief executive officers of major U.S. artificial intelligence companies tried to downplay this threat, claiming that Silicon Valley giants were still in the most advantageous position to provide the strongest applications on a massive scale.
However, this apparent advantage is only important if artificial intelligence continues to develop rapidly, and Trump's tariff policies have now made this advantage precarious.
Facing the "Sputnik Moment" of the 21st century (Note: the so-called "Sputnik Moment", i.e., the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite in 1957, meant that the United States had lost its scientific and technological advantages since World War II), the U.S. is retreating.
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