To let you skip the article, they are pausing sales to the USA on the base models of the framework 13, presumably because those are their lowest margin models. The two affected SKUs for the moment are the Intel 125H and Ryzen 7640U
They could just become a European company. I'm just saying.
Or Canadian. Since they have quite a passionate investor there already
Oh, of course, my intent was more "quit the US".
They're built in Taiwan though right so realistically them being a US company is more to do with where their officers are based. So they really could just move.
It would screw over the people who work there of course.
The company are designers and engineers, not factory workers, they don't have staff in Taiwan, they put their orders there. Unless they move all the people, thry can't really move that easily.
That's sad , I am seriously considering getting one to support their business model.
Really sad. This would be one of the first places I was planning to look when I need a new computer
Pretty much every other laptop manufacturer is going to be hit by the same tariffs
If it makes you feel better, no one will go unscathed.
This is pausing US sales only. Misleading title, only affects one country.
Yeah it was a bit worried about that for a moment and I've already given them £100.
I genuinely hate ameri-centrism like this, so many articles have headlines like that
I got a Framework 13 a couple months ago - it's been awesome so far. I'm happy to support their business model & repairability - it's super awesome.
Sucks for you guys south of the 49th parallel who have to deal with (pay) all these ludicrous tariffs!
Just bought my FW13 last month. USA. It's either perfect timing, because tariffs. Or terrible timing, because tariffs. I haven't decided yet.
Love the laptop though!
Waiting on my 13 (ryzen ai 7 350). Hope they don't claw back for a price hike...
I would expect a small company like them to be the most vulnerable to tariffs. This might cause them to go out of business.
They could start selling their inventory to countries they don't sell to yet. Although I'm assuming they're just pausing under the assumption that the tariffs are temporary.
There are still countries other than the US.
If the Americans could read, they'd be very upset to read this.
:-)
Hey Framework, how about sending some laptops down under? I still am not able to buy any from the website here in NZ
Same here! I have one but can't get components any more because they locked down freight forwarding 🙁
Canary in the coal mine turns into Standard Operating Procedure.
During their keynote they said they were largely unaffected 😣
That was more than a day ago though. Trump’s lack of prudence ensures that companies can’t plan ahead. That includes the Taiwan based framework.
They were largely unaffected by the tariffs targeting China, because US trade policy distinguishes between mainland China and Taiwan. Problem was that Trump announced huge tariffs on everyone, including a 32% tariff on Taiwan.
Yah. Like I said. Lack of prudence with plenty of unpredictability on top.
Oh gosh, too fast for me to keep up with these tariffs
Why not add the tariff to the price? If someone in the US still wants it, they can buy it and pay the tariff.
I assume they will. The problem right now is how volatile and abrupt these policies are. If they make an adjustment now, sell a laptop at that price, and then tomorrow additional tariffs are implemented they may well end up with a loss on that sale to you. The pause is likely just to see where things will stabilize to.
By the time they calculate the result on their retail price and update the website the orange will probably change everything again.
They presumably assume they'd be selling so little that it wouldn't be worth the trouble.
They'll probably wait out this situation for a while and see what the competition does..
How is pausing sales in one area, rather than just raising prices accordingly, the better business decision? No one is forcing them to sell at a specific price point.
A big problem with Trump’s tariffs isn’t that they exist; it’s that they’re subject to change at any moment. To be clear, they’re idiotic. But no one can invest in anything long term in America right now.
Imagine opening a restaurant in the U.S. right now. Half your kitchen equipment is subject to steel or aluminum tariffs. You don’t know if you can import anything. Or you can wait a year and see how full Trump’s diaper is. He also looks half dead without makeup and might have pissed off the Yakuza (or worse). The smart move is to wait to open your restaurant.
Now imagine any business bigger than a restaurant.
Imagine even a business that is supposed to benefit from tariffs, like garment manufacturing. Previously it wasn't worth it because other countries could do it cheaper. So, now you could set up a garment factory and start making things in the US. You can buy cotton from Texas, spin it into yarn, make that yarn into cloth, do it all from seed to finished garment all in the USA.
But, can you really trust that these tariffs are going to be around for the long haul? If you invest $200k to start making clothing in the US, then Trump, the master negotiator, does a deal with Bangladesh and their tariffs go to zero again there's no way you can compete and you're out $200k.
Even if you're extremely lucky and already had a US-based business that was surviving vs. overseas competition, would now be a good time to ramp up production? Sure, your goods are now much cheaper than your competitor's goods, but with the economy cratering is anybody going to be buying?
There are times when tariffs can work extremely well for certain lucky companies, but they have to be targeted long-term tariffs. Not this chaos.
A big problem with Trump’s tariffs isn’t that they exist
Haven't even finished reading your first sentence before I HARD disagree with you.
...and then you finished reading the sentence, right? Just in case it adds more nuance or context, or makes an argument you didn't consider, right? You engaged their comment in good faith and gave them the chance to make their case before deciding whether you actually disagree with them, right?
I wasn’t dismissing the problem that they exist. That’s the first problem. I was saying uncertainty prevents as much investment as do tariffs. No one knows what the tariffs will be in a month. His brain is a non-Newtronean fluid at this point.
Many business are doing that pending clarity/resolution on the tariff. Here another example with automobile maker holding cars in port https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2025/04/07/volkswagen-audi-freezes-shipments-trump-tariffs/82981796007/
But like that article says, automakers have ~3 months of inventory already in the US. They aren't pausing sales, they are just continuing selling what they have here while betting the tariffs get lowered before they run out.
I will assume that if you are a salesperson you have a pipeline and that mean there is a pause for the 3month timeline. Sure for this case the day to day they don’t pause but all in all every business is adapting with the everyday news coming up. Crazy time to run a business in the states.
Well, my original question stands. Is it really a better business decision to choose not to sell at all vs raising prices.
I run a US business where the cost of materials has always been volatile and the cost of the end product follows that. 40% swings aren't uncommon and just get passed onto the end user; my profit stays relatively the same. So I can't fathom just locking the doors when things get expensive (and people are still willing to pay it).
I could understand it if they were doing it as some form of protest, but then it doesn't make sense to only stop selling the low priced options. That's just hurting the people furthest removed from what you are protesting.
This is a hardware startup trying to attract customers away from the likes of Lenova, who has simpler products, a more mature supply chain, and economy-of-scale to their advantage. No way are they pricing to absorb 40%+ with day-to-day swings unless they have to.
They have no idea how much more the trade war will escalate between the purchase and the item getting imported. If their laptops take several months to ship and their margins are lower than the increase in tariffs after the sale was made, then they lose money on the sale.
Agree with you it is a business decision and as of every business seems to be doing its things. I think they do that as mitigation but will need to rise.
If you don’t mind me asking, what type of business/product do you run with such price volatility?
You think the customers would be happy paying 1500$ in US vs 1000$ simply by stepping outside US borders?
Trumps shit tariffs will be gone soon enough, hopefully with him.
Supply line disruptions
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
