HP, Dell and Microsoft have instructed their Chinese manufacturing plants to go full throttle over the next month. When Trump takes the oath, the party will be over.
It’s a race against the clock for PC manufacturers. According to Nikei Asia sources, HP, Dell and Microsoft have ordered their Chinese manufacturers to ramp up production significantly more in November and December. The manufacturers still want to see as many components finished as possible by Jan. 20, the day Trump will be sworn in as president.
Import rates
In fact, Trump does not like China very much and wants to impose hefty import tariffs on everything and everyone that is not primal American. All types of goods entering the United States from China will be subject to sixty percent tariffs starting next year. In doing so, the Trump administration is making a hundred and eighty-degree turn from the Biden administration, which was just trying to bring manufacturing to American territory with financial incentives.
The tax won’t go into effect until Trump is sworn in, but he won’t take long to implement that measure. This is one of the few things in the new policy that is already clear to the tech industry.
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Promised land
In the long run, PC manufacturers face the need to move as much of their production away from China as possible. Rising tensions between the U.S. and China, which will only escalate further under Trump, mean that China is no longer the promised country it once was. Dell and HP have already moved much of their production to Vietnam and Thailand. Microsoft, too, is seeking a solution for its Surface laptops. A process that will take until the end of 2025.
Manufacturers will have to think carefully about where they place their factories, though. Trump also wants to slap import tariffs on neighboring Canada and Mexico. Double bad news for HP, which manufactures its business notebooks for the North American market in Mexico.