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Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

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Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#21

Post by owenversteeg »

fuzzfactor wrote: post #2

>Will it be more difficult to sell software or SaaS across the border between Canada and the US? That's one intended outcome. OTOH, people in both countries may be financially hosed bad enough, that way more people will never be able to afford things other than bare necessities for the rest of their lives anyway.

Wow, the doom is off the charts here.

Just to inject some sanity into this discussion, these tariffs would not even bring the US to the level of some higher-tariff countries such as the notoriously impoverished United Kingdom or South Korea. 2022 tariff revenue was about 100B and the current Trump tariffs as of today stand around 90B/year depending who you ask, so this takes us to, very roughly, a weighted mean of 2.8%.

Tariff rate, applied, weighted mean, all products (%): https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/TM.TAX.MRCH.WM.AR.ZS?ty...

Some countries for reference:

India: 11.5%

South Korea: 8.6%

Mexico: 4.8%

China: 3.1%

UK: 3.1%

Israel: 2.8%

Norway: 2.3%

New Zealand: 1.7%

US: 1.5%

Canada: 1.4%

EU: 1.3%

Australia: 1.0%

Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#22

Post by theyknowitsxmas »

bradac56 wrote: post #6
fuzzfactor wrote: post #2

>Will it be more difficult to sell software or SaaS across the border between Canada and the US? That's one intended outcome. OTOH, people in both countries may be financially hosed bad enough, that way more people will never be able to afford things other than bare necessities for the rest of their lives anyway.

O yes fearmongering always helps. Back under your bridge troll.

But it's true. This doesn't affect winning founders on here.

Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#23

Post by theyknowitsxmas »

0172 wrote: post #8
bradac56 wrote: post #5

[dead]

It was never about the drugs or migrants. Trump himself said "nothing" Canada can do to prevent tariffs[1] [1]: https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/trumps-tariffs/article/nothing-...

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/impo...

Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#24

Post by qwytw »

owenversteeg wrote: post #21
fuzzfactor wrote: post #2

>Will it be more difficult to sell software or SaaS across the border between Canada and the US? That's one intended outcome. OTOH, people in both countries may be financially hosed bad enough, that way more people will never be able to afford things other than bare necessities for the rest of their lives anyway.

Wow, the doom is off the charts here. Just to inject some sanity into this discussion, these tariffs would not even bring the US to the level of some higher-tariff countries such as the notoriously impoverished United Kingdom or South Korea. 2022 tariff revenue was about 100B and the current Trump tariffs as of today stand around 90B/year depending who you ask, so this takes us to, very roughly, a weighted mean of 2.…

> Trump tariffs as of today stand around 90B/year

Of course total revenue will decrease. Possibly very significantly so only a fraction of that estimated will be collected.

> a weighted mean of 2.8%.

Can you explain where are you getting that? I'm not saying it's false but ~45% of all use imports come from China, Canada and Mexico. If they are all taxes at 10%/25% the mean would be significantly above 2.8%?

Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#25

Post by qwytw »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #16
kaaskop wrote: post #14

[flagged]

Tariffs are not extortion; they are lawful taxes on imported goods. Every country can levy tariffs on any other country; they aren't unique to the US. Your personal feelings about Donald Trump don't change these facts. The hyperbole on HN has been ridiculous lately. Get it together, folks. The US doesn't owe any other country cheap prices and the US also reserves the right to raise income in any lawful manner.

> Tariffs are not extortion

Except the way Trump imposed clearly seemed like an attempt at exhortation.

Of course those demands to Canada and Mexico were so absurd and vague that they turned out to just be a pretext.

Trump can't enact these tariffs legally without the approval from congress unless they are related to some national [economic] emergency.

So he came up with the fentanyl from Canada nonsense to somehow workaround that. Hopefully they will be challenged in court and the congress will refuse to confirm them.

He basically used the same mechanism used by presidents to impose sanctions on Russia and other countries to introduce tariffs on American allies...

Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#26

Post by qwytw »

bradac56 wrote: post #5

[dead]

> allow drugs

I do hope this is sarcasm? It's more than obvious that this was just a pretext since US government was not able to clearly formulate any specific coherent demands that they had from Canada.

> sane leadership

Well clearly sane people seem to have issues communicating or comprehended the current US government. So maybe the opposite would work better?

Anyway.. If anyone can save the Liberal party in Canada from defeat it's probably Trump (by antagonizing Canadians to such a degree that they would vote for anyone opposed to him).

Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#27

Post by qwytw »

raincole wrote: post #11
bradac56 wrote: post #5

[dead]

It's hard to picture a future where it doesn't last at least two years long. Trump is not famous for admitting he is wrong. Plus he's probably not wrong in this case, if destabilizing the US has been the goal all along.

Technically this could be challenged in court?

He can only enact these tariffs because he declared a national emergency. Otherwise he'd need the congress to confirm them. The illegal immigrants/fentanyl pretext seems absurd and flimsy...

Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#29

Post by bryanlarsen »

KeithBrink wrote: post #20

Not any kind of expert, but from my research, Article 19.3 of the USMCA says that tariffs can't be imposed on digital products: 1. No Party shall impose customs duties, fees, or other charges on or in connection with the importation or exportation of digital products transmitted electronically, between a person of one Party and a person of another Party. The full chapter on digital trade: https://ustr.gov/sites/defau…

The USMCA is irrelevant. Almost everything hit by the tariffs is not allowed under USMCA. Trump has claimed an "emergency" to bypass Congress and the USMCA.

Re: Ask HN: Do the tarrifs impact software/SaaS? If so, how?

#30

Post by rsynnott »

owenversteeg wrote: post #21
fuzzfactor wrote: post #2

>Will it be more difficult to sell software or SaaS across the border between Canada and the US? That's one intended outcome. OTOH, people in both countries may be financially hosed bad enough, that way more people will never be able to afford things other than bare necessities for the rest of their lives anyway.

Wow, the doom is off the charts here. Just to inject some sanity into this discussion, these tariffs would not even bring the US to the level of some higher-tariff countries such as the notoriously impoverished United Kingdom or South Korea. 2022 tariff revenue was about 100B and the current Trump tariffs as of today stand around 90B/year depending who you ask, so this takes us to, very roughly, a weighted mean of 2.…

… I mean, that’s really hardly the point. “Hey, car industry, it’s totally fine _in aggregate_, so you really shouldn’t be complaining about collapsing”.

High tariff countries have economies configured around those tariffs. You can’t do that overnight (as the UK is discovering post-Brexit).

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