Shapiro: Trump Tariffs And Biden Regulation Both Bad For Industry
In the wake of the just-completed presidential election, a third of the population is overjoyed, a third is horrified, and a third is just thankful that the endless torrent of political ads and fund-raising texts has finally ended.
CTA, of course, must deal with whomever the administration is and whatever policies they propose and put into place. At a recent pre-CES press luncheon, CTA CEO Gary Shapiro opined on several policies CTA will fight for and against, both from the incoming Trump administration as well as those lingering from the outgoing Biden administration.
First and foremost on CTA’s policy agenda seems to be tariffs.
“We don’t like tariffs,” Shapiro stated. “We’re very clear that we don’t like tariffs. The tariffs that are in place started with Trump and continued with Biden – they’re bipartisan tariffs. I will go to my death bed believing that tariffs are not paid for by the countries involved, they’re paid for by the consumers, they are paying a tax. Tariffs are a tax. And we will oppose them.”
Shapiro insists that both types of Trump’s proposed tariffs – 20% on anything from anywhere that crosses the ocean or the U.S. national borders, including from Mexico, and 60% on anything coming from China – are inflationary.
“They would be devastating,” Shapiro insisted. “And these tariffs don’t occur alone. When they occur, the countries that are tariffed are going to hit back on us, so our exports will be affected as well. This is not good for the country.”
Over Regulation?
As much as Shapiro and CTA don’t like tariffs, they also don’t care for the regulatory barriers the FTC and its current chair Lina Khan have thrown up to block industry mergers and acquisitions.
“It’s been a very difficult four years under President Biden, for any business at all, because the regulators were really selected by the far-left version of [senators Bernie] Sanders and Elizabeth Warren,” Shapiro complains. “So we have been suffering from death by a million cuts. The big companies are being told they can’t buy small companies, so they shut off that valve. It doesn’t just affect the big companies, it affects anyone investing in startups, and so startup money is drying up.”
As an example, Shapiro cited the decision of U.S. and European regulators to scotch the proposed merger of Roomba inventor iRobot and Amazon, which the Biden administration and 17 state attorneys general have been suing for alleged monopolistic and antitrust practices.
“The FTC has been devastating in so many different ways for business cooperation,” noted Shapiro, who was unclear on Khan’s continuance as FTC chair in the new administration.
Energy Needs
One policy area the CTA hopes to engage the incoming Trump administration in is the shift from fossil to renewable energy. Shapiro’s concerns center on new ways of generating energy for not only electric vehicles but the intertwined power-hungry technologies of generative AI, quantum computing, and data centers.
“The biggest challenge right now is generative AI because it uses so much more energy than anything else,” Shapiro explained. “I was on a panel on this in Amsterdam with Ph.D.’s in quantum and AI ethics, and one of them said we may have to choose between the person working on cures for diseases versus the person watching cat videos. There is a limited amount of electricity and there’s not enough out there today to power generative AI or quantum, and that’s just the fact.”
Shapiro noted the need to explore innovative energy solutions, citing Microsoft’s pursuit of potential nuclear power partnerships, the potential in fusion technology and small modular reactors, and the way TV makers have worked to increase power efficiency and decrease power usage. Shapiro noted CES 2025 would include many exhibitors, keynotes, and conferences focusing on these energy and sustainability issues as the world shifts to renewable energy sources.
Shapiro of course understands that CTA must work with whatever administration is in power.
“A lot of Americans have very strong views on this election,” Shapiro observed. “I have very strong mixed views on the election. Our job as an association is to represent the industry, and we’re going to represent them. We’ll welcome President Trump the way we welcomed President Biden, the way we welcomed President Obama and President Bush.”
See also: Volvo Group CEO To Deliver Vision For Sustainable Future At CES 2025