Trump’s tariffs: “Great news” for European tech?

Updated 17:15 BST, April 3 2025, with additional industry comment.

Blanket global tariffs imposed by US President Trump threaten to upend the global technology supply chain but are “great news for the future of European tech” claimed VC firm TDK Ventures’ Marc Bouchet today.

The tariffs include steep duty hikes on key EMEA trading partners, and Asia hit particularly hardest by tariffs of up to 54% on some of the technology world’s biggest exporters, including China, Taiwan and India.

But investor Bouchet suggested the the EU step in “as a partner to other global regions in the absence of a more isolationist America.

He said: “How can Europe leverage its unique capabilities in talent, automation, and manufacturing to deliver valuable products to willing buyers elsewhere around the world? … These are the exciting questions I hope Europe can answer thanks to the threat of Trump's agenda."

Calum Chace, co-founder of AI firm Conscium, said a “new global trading pattern” with a smaller role for the US “could enable Europe and other countries outside the US-China AI Duopoly to finally step up and play a full role in the development of the world's most important technology.”

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was less hopeful though and warned “uncertainty will spiral” in response to the latest tariffs as she called for a “move from confrontation to negotiation” – whilst French President Emmanuel Macron believes the European Union should be ready to respond with options such as targeting US tech and services, “according to people familiar with his thinking” said Bloomberg.

“Last night’s decision is comparable to the war of aggression against Ukraine,” German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck told reporters in Berlin meanwhile, saying that “The magnitude and determination of the response must be commensurate.”

Industry body techUK meanwhile: “The UK has signaled it will not retaliate for now and will continues to negotiate a framework agreement with the US that will have a focus on technology. The hope is that this agreement will see some carve-outs from the tariffs. It has been reported that lowering the digital services tax, and reviewing implementation of online safety and competition regulations are all on the table…”

Internationally, France’s CAC fell 1.8%, Vietnam’s market fell 6.7% and Japan’s Nikkei index fell 3.3%, while in the US NASDAQ dropped 3.5% as US tech firms including NVIDIA and Apple took big hits, 5.6% and 7% respectively. The UK managed to avoid the worst tariffs as UK imports only received the blanket 10% duty, though London’s FTSE 100 still fell 1.3%, while Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he hoping continued negotiations on a tech-focussed trade deal would come to fruition, but launched a consultation on possible retaliatory action.

Either way, the news should serve as a "wake-up call" for the UK, said Martin Tombs, a VP at data integration and AI company Qlik, who advocated an approach similar to Chace's ideas for Europe.

He said: "Yes, tariffs will raise costs and complicate trade. But they also bring clarity. They force hard questions. For the UK, the choice is simple: build or be built around. Now is the time to double down on self-sufficiency, insulate the tech backbone, and design a framework for responsible, secure, cross-border data exchange."

See also: US tells chips sector - invest more if you want to keep funding