With Wall Street in a panic and allies the world over peeved, the global fallout from President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade war continues to build. But the world’s richest companies could see some upside — depending on how Trump negotiates.
From the sale of TikTok, to digital services taxes, to Europe’s pesky antitrust action against Silicon Valley behemoths, tech issues have suddenly become a potential bargaining chip in Trump’s tariff fight. And Silicon Valley executives, newly cozy with the president, are hoping his administration will defend them against foreign regulations and taxes.
So as countries negotiate to ease tariffs, they’re faced with a question: What exactly does Trump want? And should they scale back their own laws to make him happy?
This all depends on whether Trump has a coherent plan, Michael Froman, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, told the POLITICO Tech podcast.
“Leverage is only good if you take it out for a drive,” he said.
“You’ve got to be able to lay out for the other countries, for the other markets what it is you want them to change, or do, in order to reduce the tariffs, get rid of the tariffs,” said Froman, who served as the U.S. trade representative under President Barack Obama. “And so far, the administration has not laid that out in any great detail.”
Trump stood in the Rose Garden on Wednesday and declared a 10 percent tariff on all countries. He then slapped extra tariffs on trade partners who he said treat the U.S. unfairly, including the European Union, China and Taiwan.
On POLITICO Tech, Froman delves into the implications of Trump’s “Liberation Day” and whether it will set Silicon Valley free with host Steven Overly. Listen to the full interview and subscribe to POLITICO Tech on Apple, Spotify, Audible or your preferred podcast player.