Small Tech Faces Tariffs Squeeze

WSJ Tech News Briefing

The Wall Street Journal

News, Tech News

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Big tech companies got at least a brief reprieve from the Trump administration’s latest tariffs. But WSJ personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen explains how small tech companies and their customers could feel the squeeze. Plus, IBM has re-upped its commitment to U.S.-based manufacturing and development. Katie Deighton speaks with WSJ Heard on the Street columnist Asa Fitch about the economic challenges to IBM’s ambitions in AI. Victoria Craig hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, T&B listeners, before we get started, a heads up. We're going to be asking you a question
0:04.6	at the top of each show for the next few weeks. Our goal here at Tech News Briefing is to keep you
0:09.5	updated with the latest headlines and trends on all things tech. Now we want to know more about
0:14.3	you, what you like about the show, and what more you'd like to be hearing from us. This week,
0:19.0	our question is, which areas of tech are you most
0:21.8	interested in hearing more about? AI, crypto, tech policy, gadgets? If you're listening on Spotify,
0:28.9	look for our poll under the episode description, or you can send us an email to tnb at wsj.com.
0:35.5	Now on to the show.
0:45.0	Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Tuesday, April 29th. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal.
0:51.0	IBM plans to plow billions of dollars into its U.S. business at a time when the company's trying to prove its metal in the world of AI. Then, big tech companies
0:55.7	got a reprieve from the Trump administration's latest tariffs will tell you why small tech is
1:00.9	looking for ways to survive. But first, IBM said yesterday that it plans to spend $150 billion over the next five years to bolster its manufacturing and R&D in the U.S.
1:16.8	The company said it's all in the name of reaffirming a commitment to American innovation and economic opportunity.
1:23.4	It also comes as President Trump's tariffs threatened to make international manufacturing more expensive.
1:29.4	My colleague, Katie Dayton, spoke with WSJ-Hurt-on-the-Street columnist, Aza Fitch, about how economic
1:35.3	uncertainty is posing a challenge for IBM's ambitions and about the role artificial intelligence plays
1:41.1	in Big Blue's overall strategy.
1:43.8	Asa, when I hear the name IBM, I don't necessarily think of artificial intelligence.
1:49.7	It's not a company we're here often listed amongst the likes of OpenAI and
1:54.1	Nvidia. When did the company first turn its attention to this technology?
1:59.3	IBM has been around since 1911. It's a very old company,
2:03.6	and it's been a pioneering company, a lot of technologies, including AI. You may remember that
	...

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