Four ways Trump could upend the tech world in his first 100 days

A lot can happen in 100 days, the marker often used as a glimpse into the rest of a presidential administration.

Today, as President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, cities, counties and states are preparing to find out how those initial actions will directly impact their workforce, businesses and opportunities for innovation.

Trump’s plans include mass deportations and detainment, including of United States citizens under a proposed denaturalization policy. He also promised tariffs of up to 20% for imports from European allies and 60% for imports from China and eliminating key policies like the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

“With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, all were passed with the purpose of creating American jobs that have been left behind as companies move production overseas,” Carla Stone, president of World Trade Center Delaware, an international trade nonprofit for businesses, told Technical.ly. 

What happens next remains to be seen. For now, here’s a roundup of how Trump’s stances could trickle down to impact regional economies.

Mass deportation could damage the agriculture industry

Trump has said he plans to deport as many as 20 million immigrants from below the southern border — almost twice the estimated number of undocumented immigrants by Pew Research in 2024. That reflects Trump’s senior adviser Stephen Miller’s plan for “turbocharged” denaturalization that could undo citizenship for millions of Americans.

It’ll take more than 100 days to go into full effect, but it could start immediately after the inauguration. Those policies could workplace raids, family separation and detainment camps, all things we saw during Trump’s first administration, though at a much smaller scale.

Since the reality of the scale of mass deportations has set in, farmers in the US have started sounding the alarm that the loss of undocumented farmworkers would devastate the industry.

If that happens, it could lead to food shortages, which would be felt in communities across the country as prices could increase significantly.

Tariff hikes, full-scale trade wars and mass global job loss

If the administration goes through with its planned tariffs, including up to 20% tariffs on imported goods from trade allies like France and Germany, it would not only disrupt their economies, it would force them to increase tariffs on US goods.

According to the Institute for Macroeconomic and Business Cycle Research, Trump tariffs could lead to the loss of 300,000 jobs in Germany alone. Canada, which has been threatened with 25% tariffs, could face job losses of 500,000 in Ontario. 

Mexico, home to a large number of car and truck manufacturing plants and produce farms that export to the US, has also been threatened with 25% tariffs, which could exacerbate food shortages caused by mass deportation.

This could all lead to job losses in the US, as sectors that rely on imported materials, such as manufacturing, retail and business services, cut workers to make up for the increase in import costs. 

In preparation for the Trump Administration’s tariffs, Mexico and the European Union have made a trade agreement to deepen their trade relationship and decrease their reliance on US trade. 

Less trade with the US may also impact local businesses that do business internationally, as well as businesses that rely on imported goods, by making it harder and more expensive to get necessary materials. 

Billions in tech manufacturing and job growth funding at risk

The CHIPS and Science Act, a $280 billion piece of legislation that subsidizes US semiconductor manufacturers and supports developing regions in different technology sectors with the EDA Tech Hubs program, is one of the Joe Biden Administration-era laws that may be looking at the chopping block.

With multi-millions of dollars already committed, the whole thing can’t be easily undone, but it can easily be mismanaged and abused to benefit corporations over jobs. 

Just days before the end of the Biden Administration, the US Commerce Department approved a $70 million CHIPS and Science Act grant to the Massachusetts-based semiconductor firm MACOM, which has plans to expand its facility in Durham, North Carolina.

When the CHIPS Act passed, the US produced just 12% of the world’s semiconductors, far less than we use. 

Since the legislation passed, semiconductor fabrication plants have been planned and are being built across the country, including in Arizona, Texas, Upstate New York, Ohio and Florida, each plant bringing at least tens of thousands of jobs to the area. Less support from the federal government, could mean fewer opportunities for chip development in these regions and dampen the local economy.

In addition to the jobs, ranging from well-paying factory jobs to advanced technology jobs, some of the funding goes to designated regional EDA Tech Hubs to develop tech in areas that may not be traditionally known as centers of technology. Awards are given out in regular cycles and lead to local contracts and job openings, that could also be impacted.

A potential reversal of climate and clean energy investments

The $370 billion Inflation Reduction Act focuses on clean energy technology, incentivizing private investments in clean energy, job creation and reduced energy costs. Its goals include achieving 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, a 50% reduction of greenhouse gas pollution from 2005 levels in 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

According to Brookings, likely repeals include sections related to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and the Methane Emissions Reduction Program.

These rollbacks would make it more difficult for people to use clean energy, buy low-or-no emissions vehicles and it would reduce the number of jobs in the clean energy industry — not to mention the potential impact they could have on the environment, and people’s health, as the number of climate disasters increase.