Investors Worry Trump’s Tariffs Could Cause a ‘World of Hurt’ for Startups

At the start of the year, Tom Drummond, managing partner at the San Francisco-based venture capital firm Heavybit, was feeling mildly anxious about the state of the world and how political volatility in the US might affect capital markets. Now? “No one knows what the hell is going on,” he tells WIRED. Drummond was referring to President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, which sent global markets into a tailspin when they were announced on April 2. Trump later backpedaled, pausing import duties on most countries for 90 days, though a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods has remained in place. It’s unclear what will happen when the pause ends in early July. “There’s just as much chance for these tariffs to be pulled as for Trump to dig his heels in,” says Drummond. Several venture capitalists working at small-to-mid-sized firms told WIRED in recent weeks they are concerned that Trump’s tariffs could slow down tech investments, further decelerate an already sluggish market for ... Read full article.