Silicon Valley’s courtship of the Trump administration has yielded unexpected consequences, leaving major tech companies caught in the crossfire of global trade tensions.
### **The Broken Promise**
Tech leaders initially saw Trump as:
– A bulwark against EU regulations
– A champion of US tech dominance
– A stabilizer for China relations
**Reality Check**:
– **EU Retaliation**: Proposed digital ad tax targets Meta/Apple as DMA fines loom
– **China Standoff**: Aggressive tariffs jeopardize Tesla/TikTok operations
– **Market Chaos**: Trade uncertainty drowns out investor signals (see AppLovin’s stalled TikTok bid)
### **Casualties of War**
1. **Meta**
– Facing record EU fines under Digital Markets Act
– Potential new EU ad revenue tax if trade talks fail
2. **Tesla**
– Stock down 33% YTD
– Removed US-made vehicle sales in China due to tariffs
– Musk’s political alignment hurting brand perception
3. **TikTok**
– Caught in US-China tariff crossfire
– Chinese government vows to “fight to the end” against forced sale
### **The Big Picture**
Tech giants are learning they’re:
✅ **Assets** in peacetime – leveraging global influence
☢️ **Targets** in conflict – first to feel trade war impacts
*”When nations clash, even trillion-dollar companies become pawns”* – Industry analyst
### **Silver Linings?**
– Potential acceleration of US tech self-sufficiency
– Opportunity for smaller players less tied to geopolitical tensions
**Bottom Line**: Tech’s political gambit has transformed “too big to fail” into “too big not to be weaponized” – with no easy exit strategy.
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