Trump’s China tariff plan would be ‘devastating’ says CTA CEO Gary Shapiro

• TechRadar caught up with Gary Shapiro, CEO of the CTA
• “We don’t like tariffs” is the message from the CTA to the incoming administration
• The proposed tariffs would be “devastating” for consumer goods, including tech

CES 2025, the massive consumer technology trade show in Las Vegas, is less than two months away. It falls in the liminal space between a historic US Presidential Election and a new administration’s very significant plans for US trade, which could impact many of the thousands of technology companies expected at the tradeshow and the majority of US customers they serve.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the non-profit organization behind the event that often represents the industry’s interests before the US government, has a message for the incoming administration: “We don’t like tariffs.”

Speaking at a CES 2025 preview kick-off dinner in Manhattan this week, CTA CEO, lobbyist, and best-selling author Gary Shapiro held nothing back when I asked him about President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to apply a blanket 20% tariff to all imported goods and, potentially, a special 60% tariff on Chinese imports.

“I will to my deathbed indicate that tariffs are not paid for by the countries involved, they’re paid for by the consumers that are paying for a tax, and tariffs are a tax. It’s basic economics. The fact that President Trump found that one economist who will say that out of thousands of economists doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Shapiro added that the 20% tariff likely to include Mexico and Canadian imports will be “very…