Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1535954
30 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2025 Johnson: While we're waiting for the report, what should copper purchasers in the PCB industry anticipate? Nothing, most likely. We won't know what will happen tariff-wise until the report's release and the president then decides whether to take action. Even if the DOC recommends tariffs, that doesn't mean the president has to move forward with the recommendation. ere have been instances with positive findings where the president didn't take action. Of course, we know that under the second Trump term, the administration has been eager to take action. Until December, copper products are exempt from the reciprocal tariffs. LaRont: Explain the idea behind reciprocal tariffs as we are seeing them today. Reciprocal tariffs came from the idea that the U.S. would address trade imbalances with its trading partners. It began with a baseline 10% tariff, but for certain countries, the rate was higher. e higher individual rates were in effect for one day at the beginning of April, before authorities rolled them back. Now we're in this 90-day pause where everything is at the 10% rate, unless it falls within the list of current exemptions including semiconduc- tors, pharmaceuticals, and copper products. However, it's best to think of these exemptions as temporary because many of these products are being investigated now to see if they are national security threats. Johnson: I'm hearing the adage, "Hope for the best, plan for the worst." at's all you can really do these days. It's hard to anticipate what will happen, but I think that smart companies are running different scenar- ios, asking, "If this tariff were to be imposed on these products, what would happen to my cost structures?" Or, "If X were to happen, what would happen next?" Predicting is difficult of course, and the numerous announcements and subsequent rollbacks of actions over the last couple of months have further complicated matters. With this 90-day pause, we'll see what happens. Countries are now negotiating with the U.S. government to see if they can elimi- nate these tariffs, and there are some indica- tions that these discussions are moving things forward. LaRont: What is your overarching message to business owners and operators right now about tariffs? Don't make any hasty decisions based on today's situation. ings could change, as we've seen. You probably don't want to reconfigure your supply chain completely or invest in a new plant over- seas because that country currently has a lower tariff. ings could change, even with China. LaRont: Speaking of China… China was facing different tariffs. e recip- rocal tariff had gone up to 125%. 2 Some com- panies were facing tariffs on Chinese prod- ucts of 170% or higher. Even President Trump recently said that tariff rates that high with one of our biggest trading partners were not sus- tainable. ere are things you can do right now to put yourself in a stronger position. If you have Chinese products in your supply chain, it's a good idea to look at alternative sources. We've been advising companies to develop a tariff response by systematically looking at their import profile: What are you import- ing and what products are based on imported sources? en, find your risk areas based on what you know now and what you might expect. Also, each set of tariffs has potential exemptions and interacts differently. Recently, the Trump administration clarified that certain tariffs do not stack on top of one another, con- trary to prior announcements. Under the new " Don't make any hasty decisions based on today's situation. "