Trump’s Big Tech Policies: What GOP Victory Means For Apple, Google, Microsoft

Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th president of the United States, defeating his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris. Here’s a look at where Trump stands on issues surrounding the technology sector and some of the biggest companies on Wall Street.

Tariffs: President-elect Trump has promoted tariffs of 20% on all imports coming into the country and tariffs as high as 60% on goods made in China.

Companies like Apple, Inc. AAPL which produces most of its products in China, could be heavily impacted by higher tariffs and may pass those costs onto the consumer as a result. 

Read More: Trump Pushes Forward With Controversial Tariff Plan Despite Growing Backlash From Voters Who Strongly Oppose It

Chips: The semiconductor industry could be highly effected by Trump’s potential tariff policies. The Biden administration hiked tariffs on semiconductors imported from China with the rate set to increase to 50% by 2025. It is likely Trump will maintain this policy and perhaps hike the tariffs even higher.

The outgoing administration enacted the CHIPS and Science Act to provide funding for American research, manufacturing and workforce development aimed at boosting domestic semiconductor production. Trump has been highly critical of the CHIPS and Science Act and has suggested that implementing high tariffs would drive chip manufacturers to invest their own resources in establishing production facilities inside the U.S. 

Investors and chipmakers will be watching to see if Trump will attempt to claw back funds promised under the CHIPS Act or dismantle or reduce the program.

Trump has also been a vocal critic of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.’s TSM planned investments in the US, particularly its $40 billion project in Arizona. Once in office, Trump could attempt to cancel or modify the subsidies that have been promised to the company through the CHIPS Act. 

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Investors can monitor the market’s reaction to the election results through an ETF that tracks the semiconductor sector, including the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH. 

DOJ: Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department intensified its scrutiny of major technology companies, particularly in the areas of monopolistic practices and proposed mergers and acquisitions in order to prevent further market concentration. 

Alphabet, Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google currently faces multiple antitrust cases brought by the US Department of Justice under the Biden administration and include charges of illegally monopolizing the internet search engine and advertising technology markets. 

A Trump White House — along with a Republican Senate — will likely take a more deregulatory approach to technology and AI when compared to his predecessor.

Trump has also committed to rolling back Biden’s executive order on AI regulation, which some conservatives view as government overreach.

AI hyperscalers, like Microsoft Corp. MSFT and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN Amazon Web Services (AWS) will likely face less regulatory oversight under a Trump administration, potentially giving them more freedom in developing and deploying AI technologies.

Markets React: Stock futures are surging Wednesday morning with tech-heavy Nasdaq futures up 1.79% as investors interpret Trump’s victory as positive for the technology sector.

AAPL, TSM, GOOG, MSFT, AMZN Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Apple shares are up 0.42% at $224.40, TSMC shares are down 1.74% at $192.35, Alphabet shares are up 2.26% at $175.29, Microsoft shares are up 1.22% at $416.48 and Amazon shares are up 0.46% at $200.42 in premarket trading Wednesday.

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