Even Streaming Services Might Be Hurt by Trump’s Tariffs

If the US is headed for a recession, or even if Americans think it might be, the amount of income they want to spend on monthly streaming subscriptions might see a dip, analysts tell WIRED. Last week, President Donald Trump rolled out a policy that places a blanket 10 percent tariff on goods coming from most of the US’s trading partners, plus additional hefty import duties on countries in key regions like Europe and Asia. Mostly, these costs will affect consumer products like cars and sneakers, but they may also make it harder for people to justify subscriptions they use only once or twice a week when there’s a new episode of The Last of Us or Severance. Generally, streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ are just that: services, not goods, so they don’t face any kind of markup when they cross borders. But at a time when the stock market is in “chaos” the economic uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs is sure to have impacts on those services—and how much people are willing ... Read full article.