US electronics, together with laptops, have lengthy been manufactured in China, however a brand new examine finds that the tech trade has “shifted sharply away” from Chinese language manufacturing in response to President Trump’s tariffs.
The shift was so drastic that solely 22% of shopper expertise imports got here from China final 12 months, down from 45% the 12 months earlier than, and 54% in 2022, in accordance to a report from the Shopper Know-how Affiliation (CTA), which represents over 1,200 firms, together with Apple, Nvidia, and Sony.
(Credit score: CTA)
“Vietnam is now a number one provider, accounting for almost 1 / 4 of US shopper expertise imports,” the CTA added. For the primary two months of 2026, shopper tech imports from China fell even decrease to 12%. Vietnam accounted for 23%, Mexico held 18%, and Taiwan had 14%.
The CTA analyzed import knowledge from the US Census Bureau and mapped the numbers to the product classes utilizing their respective tariff codes. The examine estimates that about 60% of laptop computer and pill shipments to the US in 2025 originated in Vietnam; in 2025, about 66% of the imports originated from China. In 2022, almost all laptop computer imports to the US got here from China.
(Credit score: CTA)
Gaming consoles noticed a dramatic shift as properly: Final 12 months, 58% of the imports got here from Vietnam, a reversal from 2024, when 86% got here from China. Smartphones present the same sample, besides US-bound manufacturing has been shifting extra to India, the place Apple makes use of native factories to assemble the iPhone.
(Credit score: CTA)
(Credit score: CTA)
The shift away from China is a direct response to President Trump imposing tariffs on the nation as a part of his effort to deliver manufacturing again to the US. However regardless that many firms shifted their manufacturing outdoors China to keep away from import duties, Trump’s commerce warfare rapidly expanded to focus on a variety of Asian markets, together with Vietnam and India. On the plus facet, the White Home refrained from tariffing laptops, smartphones, and chips. However no exemption was made for online game consoles.
The CTA estimates recreation consoles noticed the largest impression, with the merchandise dealing with a mean 18% tariff hike. Wi-fi headphones and earbuds got here in second, dealing with a mean 16% tariff. In third was sensible house units, which noticed a mean 11% tariff price.
(Credit score: CTA)
“In whole, shopper expertise importers paid $23.5 billion in tariffs in 2025—greater than 5 occasions the prior 12 months ($4.04 billion),” in line with the CTA, which has lengthy described tariffs as a tax on American shoppers.
Total, the typical tariff price for all shopper tech imports reached 9% throughout October as retailers stocked up on “high-tariff classes like smartphones, gaming consoles, and wi-fi headphones and earbuds” forward of the vacation purchasing season. The common tariff price then fell to five% in February as imports “tilted in favor of lower-tariff product classes,” the CTA informed PCMag.
(Credit score: CTA)
Since then, the entire tariff image drastically modified after the Supreme Courtroom in February invalidated many of the tariffs that Trump imposed final 12 months on nations together with China, India, Vietnam, and Taiwan. The White Home has even been compelled to refund quite a few firms that paid the duties, sparking class-action lawsuits from shoppers demanding that console makers Nintendo and Sony return the funds to prospects.
The CTA informed PCMag the examine coincidentally concluded in February, so the affiliation doesn’t have any knowledge on how the tariff panorama has modified following the Supreme Courtroom ruling. However days later, Trump rapidly imposed a ten% world tariff as a substitute, which is now dealing with authorized challenges.
The CTA can also be involved that the White Home will ultimately problem extra tariffs, particularly concentrating on foreign-made chips, utilizing a special authorized authority outdoors the Supreme Courtroom’s February ruling. The affiliation joined different tech teams in sending a letter to White Home commerce officers final week, urging the Trump administration to drop the semiconductor-focused tariffs because of the potential financial hurt.
“Reminiscence chip shortages and the associated surge in reminiscence costs have already resulted in broadly reported will increase within the value of shopper merchandise, in addition to delays or deferrals in new product launches. Tariffs on semiconductors and spinoff merchandise would worsen market circumstances, limiting expertise selection for American shoppers and companies,” the letter says.
The CTA’s government chair, Gary Shapiro, additionally stated in a press release: “CEOs are spending extra time now specializing in tariffs and hiring attorneys and making an attempt to determine it out than they’re producing revolutionary merchandise which make Individuals’ lives higher.”
About Our Skilled
Michael Kan
Principal Reporter
Expertise
I have been a journalist for over 15 years. I received my begin as a colleges and cities reporter in Kansas Metropolis and joined PCMag in 2017, the place I cowl satellite tv for pc web providers, cybersecurity, PC {hardware}, and extra. I am presently based mostly in San Francisco, however beforehand spent over 5 years in China, overlaying the nation’s expertise sector.
Since 2020, I’ve lined the launch and explosive development of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web service, writing 600+ tales on availability and have launches, but in addition the regulatory battles over the growth of satellite tv for pc constellations, fights with rival suppliers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the trouble to broaden into satellite-based cell service. I’ve combed by means of FCC filings for the most recent information and pushed to distant corners of California to check Starlink’s mobile service.
I additionally cowl cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC compelled Avast to pay shoppers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and promoting their private data to third-party purchasers, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I additionally cowl the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in entrance of a Greatest Purchase to get an RTX 3000. I am now following how the AI-driven reminiscence scarcity is impacting the whole shopper electronics market. I am at all times desperate to study extra, so please bounce within the feedback with suggestions and ship me suggestions.
