The first hundred-day mark has been reached for the new US president and the world is about to face the consequences of the tariffs imposed by the administration on China. And of course, it could shake the tech world very hard.
Apple just announced the goal of moving the production of iPhones sold in the US from China to India by 2026. News that is bound to shock everyone accustomed to reading “Designed in California, Made in China” engraved with small letters on the devices stuck in our pockets since the first iPhone.
But in today's world, certainty and status quo are shaky and any equilibrium seems more precarious than before. Isolationists' speeches prevalent in the United States facing the consolidation of Chinese positions in the global economy seems to herald the end of an era. Between the two facing giants, Europe is seeking its place on the chessboard as well as its independence.
Designed in California, Made in China. With increasing tension, European sovereignty becomes more than ever, a major challenge, especially when Uncle Sam seems to treat long time friend and enemy alike. Many European countries and US allies seem to be waking up in a cold sweat to the hand-wringing of the man who lives in the White House.
To be clear, I am not saying blind trust to China is de rigueur (it's not). Working conditions in the Chinese sweatshops and factories that produce these technological devices are regularly talked about for good reasons. And China itself is not unfamiliar with problems coming their way. International or not. But to put it simply, when American dream turns nightmare, it becomes harder to sell it and the goods that comes with it, despite the pretty little bow.
But I would suggest it makes sense to take this opportunity to remove the middleman and kill two birds with one stone by also gaining independence on the production front.
It is the idea behind the slogan, “Designed in Europe, Made in China”. an approach that could be an important step towards recognizing a form of economic sovereignty.
Even Apple, with its almost unlimited financial power, remains in awe of the Chinese assembly line. And it's not the Trump administration's punitive tariff measures, applied then withdrawn in awkward silence, that have done anything to change this reality. It's not patriotic speeches that keep the machines roaring.
And yet, the tariff war is here to stay, justified by the idea of bringing back manufacturing of electronic devices on the red, white and blue US soil. But if these tariffs are so good and “great” for the US tech industry, why add exemptions on key products like smartphones and computers ?
The fantasy of a new great industrial boom through the factories coming back as deeply ingrained in the US like at home. 80% of Americans claim they want factories to come back. But is that possible ? Most importantly, is that feasible ?
This dream of factory relocations is as expensive as counter productive. China has had a decades-long head start to develop manufacturing expertise that we simply don't have. It not only has infrastructure but also know-how, talents and logistics behind it. Plans and vision. China thinks in decades, not in 4 year presidential terms.
And especially when thinking short term, it seems impossible to bring back production close to home. iPhone production is massive. Many components are made by different manufacturers spread across numerous countries.
Rather than striving to compete with the impossible, there is another path open to us: that of disintermediation. Accept that “Made in China” will remain the norm, for a while at least, but turn “Designed in California” into “Designed in Europe”. Regain control over the thinking, the act of creation in its most political form. Freedom from the American filters that dictates, even today, our tools, GUIs and operating systems.
The fact that China presents itself quite ready to part ways with the American consumers and that the Chinese president called on Europe to resist together at the beginning of April open doors for new international relations.
But European autonomy cannot be without security. Still today, the vast majority of critical updates, security audits, firmware patches are managed abroad. Here too, cutting out the middleman means to take back control. Developing systems locally, training talent, building teams capable of mastering the entire software chain from interface to firmware. This is not science fiction. It's common sense.
And finally, reducing American influence in sensitive and critical industries. Smart appliances, servers and critical infrastructures are a long-term priority. Trust cannot be decreed but has to be built on technological mastery. And this mastery can only come from a collective effort, shared between governments, researchers, companies and users.
Android, in its most open source version, remains a totally viable and accessible foundation that no longer relies on American software. Provided we really de-Google it. At the moment, it's the open software layer that brings us closest to the autonomy we strive for.
Mutualize efforts to create a European Android, thought right from the start with autonomy, transparency and digital sovereignty in mind. These steps lay the groundwork for a viable alternative.
With the upheavals that occur every time the United States and China trade blows on the international stage, European sovereignty and independence in Tech are making us sit up and take notice. And yet, American-style isolationism is NOT the solution. The dream of controlling everything locally, from design to production remains only that. A dream.
And we look at the volumes necessary to produce enough to replace China on the global market, it becomes obvious. For these numbers, we are not talking in terms of factories but in production centers the size of cities.
But it is still possible to act at our level to keep our heads high by using tech to push the world in a new and better direction.
The Silicon Valley gives us the blueprint ; it’s written on the box.
“Designed in California, Made in China”
We have the brains, the values and the means to build a different path forward. Europe needs to invest in what they already know how to do : think, design, build tech aligned with its principle. Rather than chase after the windmills that are the imagined factories, let's invest in our intellectual autonomy.
American giants are not asking for permission anymore. Meta, Google and their ilk aim to build a world where they don't need anyone. If we don't want to be relegated to the status of mere consumers of their visions, it's time to take back control.
If we want to change the way production is carried out in order to influence it, then we have to design our own products and control the constraints placed on the manufacture of the devices whose production we outsource.