Trump's tariffs force laptop makers like Dell and Lenovo to halt US shipments

What just happened? The technology business is feeling the first, massive consequences of import tariffs introduced by Donald Trump. If industry sources are to be believed, Washington's new policy just forced some of the world's largest laptop manufacturers to delay shipments to the US.

According to Taiwan sources quoted by Commercial Times, Lenovo, Dell, HP, and other laptop manufacturers will stop sending new devices to the US for at least two weeks. Technology and consumer electronics businesses are being hit hard by the tariffs imposed by Trump, even though the US president has recently paused the majority of these additional levies for 90 days except for a 10 percent baseline global tariff. However, tariffs against China are now at 145 percent according to White House sources.

Earlier this week, Razer and Framework decided to halt sales in the US and cancel preorders for new laptops. Micron is raising prices of SSDs and other memory products, while Chinese sellers on Amazon are being forced to significantly increase prices or abandon their US sale prospects altogether.

Industry insider sources are now forecasting a significant drop in revenue in April, with laptops, smartphones, and network equipment suffering the worst effects of Trump's tariffs.

Before Trump decided to pause the enforcement of "reciprocal tariffs" for three months, Taiwan was hit with a 32 percent levy. The US president is definitely acting fast and breaking things, which means companies are forced to adapt to increasingly uncertain conditions in the global market. Trump's tariffs now have their own, heavily edited Wikipedia page.

Taiwan sources are lamenting the confusion surrounding the US economy and tariffs, and many organizations are taking a wait-and-see approach for the time being. Some laptop and component manufacturers are seemingly reaching their biggest customers in the US, seeking a "tariff-sharing" cooperation plan to try and reduce the impact of the new levies.

Other manufacturers, including those working in the passive component business, said they still plan to ship their products in line with the previously decided schedule. Meanwhile, Chinese security company Qihoo 360 said that new shipments are halted, but its US subsidiary should have enough supplies for now.