President Trump imposed a 100 percent tariff on large foreign-made drones, particularly targeting Chinese models used widely by American police departments. Officials like Lake County Drone Unit chief Scott Mlakar say the tariffs will make it financially difficult for many communities to buy or replace drones used for tasks like locating suspects and missing children. The FCC is also weighing classifying some drone technologies, such as lidar, as military-grade, further restricting access.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-06
The Trump administration's new tariffs took effect September 3, imposing rates as high as 100% on drones over 55 pounds, thermal-imaging models, docking stations, and critical parts like airframes and control boards. Smaller, less-capable drones and other components face a 25% rate, while allied nations such as the EU, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the UK get preferential rates of 10-15% if their supply chains are substantially domestic or American.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-05
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said 19 G20 members agreed at a finance ministers meeting to address a flood of underpriced exports distorting global trade, with China the sole holdout. He identified China as running the world's largest current account surplus and said its practices were unsustainable for global markets.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-02
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent opened G20 finance minister talks in Asheville, North Carolina, seeking backing for new sanctions on Iran, including targeting another bank as part of an effort he calls 'Operation Economic Outcast.' The meeting unfolds against a backdrop of renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities and strained trade relations with allies like Canada following tariff escalations.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-31
South Korean officials have dismissed a House Judiciary Committee GOP report accusing them of unfairly targeting Coupang, the Seattle-based e-commerce firm often called Korea's Amazon, over a data breach. The report followed South Korean hearings, threats of criminal charges against Coupang's interim CEO, and a record data-privacy fine, actions Coupang says were disproportionate to what it calls a minor breach. Congressional sources and people close to Coupang tell CNBC the standoff is now souring US-South Korea relations and could trigger retaliatory measures.
cnbc.com
· 2026-08-31
The Trump administration is weighing new tariffs on semiconductors, prompting pushback from tech lobbyists who say the move would raise chip costs and slow data-center construction. Industry representatives argue that domestic chip manufacturing capacity is years away from meeting soaring demand, making the tariffs impractical. The Computer and Communications Industry Association warned that the resulting cost increases and uncertainty could jeopardize the ongoing data-center expansion.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-28
Politico sources report the Trump administration is drafting another round of tariffs on semiconductors, aiming to push chipmakers toward US-based production. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly favors letting companies import chips duty-free up to a threshold linked to their domestic investment, though the exact terms remain unsettled. The move would layer new costs onto PCs, consoles and data centers already strained by memory shortages.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-28
Politico reports the Trump administration is considering wide-ranging tariffs that could extend beyond raw semiconductors to products built with them, such as gaming consoles, servers and data-center equipment, with an announcement possible within weeks or months. Sources familiar with internal discussions say the exact scope remains unsettled, but one option under review would sharply broaden the list of taxed tech goods.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-08-27
Citing eight unnamed sources, POLITICO reports the Trump administration is considering a second wave of semiconductor tariffs that would hit finished products like laptops, gaming consoles, and data center servers, not just chips themselves. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly favors tying duty-free chip import limits to each company's committed U.S. manufacturing output, and officials have signaled that exemptions granted under January's Proclamation 11002 for data centers, startups, and consumer devices might not survive into this next phase.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-08-27
Indie publisher Panic is returning the tariff fees it had charged Playdate buyers, after a court ruling deemed the Trump administration's import taxes illegal and ordered refunds to affected companies. Panic said it has now received its own tariff refunds and passed that money back to customers who had paid the added charge as a line item on their orders.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-08-27
The webcomic XKCD published a strip poking fun at the logic and rhetoric surrounding international trade and tariffs. As with all XKCD content, the comic is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license, allowing free sharing but not commercial resale.
xkcd.com
· 2026-08-27
Politico reports the Trump administration is considering expanding semiconductor tariffs to cover finished consumer electronics like laptops and gaming consoles, and potentially smartphones and accessories, rather than just standalone chip imports. Companies investing in US-based chip manufacturing could be granted exemptions, but building such facilities typically takes years and billions of dollars, meaning near-term relief is unlikely.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-27
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