Tech companies are wary of Trump’s policies.
Trump’s relationship with Silicon Valley was a less discussed topic as not many thought the Republican candidate would win the presidential election.
The convincing win of Donald Trump has sent a shudder at stock markets across the world, causing the dollar to tumble.
Moreover, looking at the policy platform that Trump had positioned himself over the last two years, it’s quite decipherable that the short-term prospects for the tech economy and Silicon Valley will be hit hard.
Most importantly, the economic policy that Trump heralded during the election is not in harmony with venture capitalists and tech community and will have serious repercussions in the coming days.
Gregory Autry of USC’s Marshall School of Business was quoted by TechCrunch saying that the Trump administration will go well with manufacturing jobs, including high-tech manufacturing, but Silicon Valley firms will have a difficult time to reconcile with his policies.
What is more startling for Silicon Valley companies is Trump’s anti-China sentiment that might trigger an increase in the tariff of the Made in China products as he had promised to return manufacturing to the US. This will adversely affect the American companies including Apple that rely heavily on the global supply chain.
“That’s going to suck for them,” says Autry.
Also, there is the important issue of immigration policy, which Trump has virulently attacked during his campaign. Trump has openly lashed out against the current immigration policy as he believes it is taking away American jobs.
Silicon Valley companies, many of which relies on the H-1B visa program to hire talents from overseas, might have a tough time as Trump during his campaign has said many a time that he would scrap the program or put more laws to curb loopholes.
The Silicon Valley culture that is based on meritocracy, openness, and rationality is heading for a direct confrontation with blatant bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia articulated by Trump.