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A RT I C L E BY T H I AG O G U I M A R A E S , G LO B A L E L ECT R O N I C S A S S O C I AT I O N Electronics Trade in a Persistent Tariff Environment Tariffs affecting the electronics sector were largely still in place at the end of 2025, even as the pace of new announcements slowed, and several electronics-relevant investigations and legal ques- tions pushed key decisions into 2026. For compa- nies operating global electronics supply chains, tariffs are no longer a short-term disruption; they are part of the operating environment. The costs facing electronics manufacturers are no longer limited to the tariff rates we see in headlines. Changes to de minimis rules, stricter enforcement of trade agreements, logistics-related fees, and actions affecting key inputs such as semiconduc- tors and copper, now influence costs, lead times, and sourcing decisions just as much as product- level tariffs. In many cases, these measures act like tariffs even when they are not labeled as such. Mexico and Canada: Tariffs Take a Back Seat to USMCA Friction From a North American electronics perspective, tariffs were not the dominant constraint shaping cross-border activity at the end of 2025. While targeted tariffs on non-U.S. Mexico-Canada Agree- ment (USMCA) goods remained in force for both Mexico and Canada, the more consequential fric- tion increasingly arose from how USMCA rules are interpreted, enforced, and audited in practice. 78 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2026