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26 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2025 Paul Krugman received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2008 for his work in economic geography and identifying international trade patterns. In April, he told the Goldman Sachs Exchanges podcast 1 , "e secret sauce of the Trump tariffs is that they are extremely uncer- tain. Nobody knows what they will be. Nobody knows what comes next. Now, if you're a busi- ness trying to make plans, would you want to invest under those conditions?" Also in April, we reconnected with attor- ney James Kim to learn how the current trade deal dynamics are affecting the industry. James is a former U.S. Customs and Border Protec- tion attorney with years of experience working directly with client companies on import and export issues. Tariffs: Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst Nolan Johnson: James, the tariff situation seems to change almost daily. How might this situation affect the EMS provider industry? James Kim: Currently, we know several tariffs could potentially affect the electronics indus- try. e first and biggest are the steel and alu- minum tariffs. Because many components, inputs, and products use steel and alumi- num, those tariffs are extensive. ey started under Trump 1.0, but there were many special arrangements between countries, including product-specific exemptions. All of that is now done away with. We're back to a global tariff on steel and aluminum. at action has now broadened to include more of what are known as derivative prod- ucts—products that include some amount of Feature Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team