Katie Drummond: Very thrilling promise by Howard Lutnick. I am unable to wait to speak about whether or not any of that’s truly attainable.
Michael Calore: Actually not within the quick time period.
Lauren Goode: Was this the identical second the place he talked concerning the military of tens of millions utilizing tiny screws?
Katie Drummond: Oh, sure. The teeny tiny screws? The teeny tiny screws? Yeah.
Lauren Goode: That was the one on CBS Face the Nation, I believe all of us noticed it.
Howard Lutnick [Archival audio]: The military of tens of millions and tens of millions of human beings screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones. That sort of factor goes to come back to America.
Michael Calore: So Elon was tweeting by it. Tim Cook dinner has most likely additionally been sitting on Twitter and popping off some tweets calling varied members of the White Home advisory workers morons, proper?
Lauren Goode: Tim Cook dinner has not stated something publicly.
Katie Drummond: Let’s give that man a bit of credit score. He’s approach too good to try this. Apple is as savvy as they arrive, I count on to listen to nothing from them about this. To Lauren’s level earlier, I imply, they’re definitely working this behind the scenes, however I might count on they need this to be from a public optics standpoint, no remark, easy crusing, et cetera.
Lauren Goode: Katie, you talked about on the time of the inauguration, once we noticed that photograph of the tech CEOs who have been in attendance, I believe your comment was Tim Cook dinner appears to be like like he needs to vomit?
Katie Drummond: He was not precisely beaming with enthusiasm like a few of his colleagues, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, et cetera. He seemed like somebody had died, and possibly it is his firm primarily based on what’s occurring proper now,
Michael Calore: Here is hope for the longer term. Effectively, let’s discuss one of many different folks in that photograph, Mr. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO. Now, Amazon just isn’t a {hardware} firm like Apple, however it offers in onerous items. So what do the tariffs imply for Amazon and its enterprise?
Lauren Goode: Effectively, there’s additionally, we must always simply be aware, and our colleague, Zeyi Yang has been overlaying this at WIRED too, there’s one thing that is been often known as the de minimis exemption for e-commerce firms transport items from China, and a part of this new tariffs package deal truly removes that exemption, which isn’t good for e-commerce firms.
Michael Calore: That is in case your items price lower than $800?
Lauren Goode: I consider so, sure.
Michael Calore: You do not have to pay the hefty import tax on it.
Lauren Goode: Yeah. Precisely.
Katie Drummond: This one is a bit of bit much less clear-cut to me, and I am blissful to argue about it or be informed I am unsuitable. This feels much less dire for Amazon than it’s for the Elons of the world and his firms and the Apples and the Tim Cooks. I imply the reliance that Amazon has on Chinese language items bought on their platform, I believe it is at the very least 50 p.c. It is greater than 50 p.c of what Amazon sells. However given Lauren what you simply stated, that these different Chinese language commerce giants are going to be hit actually onerous by these tariffs, in some respects that feels prefer it type of equalizes the enjoying area for Amazon. After which clearly Michael, to your level, they are not a {hardware} firm. Clearly they seem to be a large commerce firm, however they’ve additionally bought Amazon Net Companies, they produce other sides to their firm that really feel way more insulated from the type of instant impacts of tariffs. I imply, how does that sit with each of you?