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Ask HN: How will Trump tarrifs affect remote workers outside US?

by reimertz on 4/3/25, 1:43 PM with 20 comments

• by nonrandomstring on 4/3/25, 2:33 PM

  There's always good news and a silver lining. We've been saying for years that BigTech is the cybersecurity threat. Working toward European cloud migration has been like pulling teeth as so many companies felt locked-in to insecure US products. In just two months Trump has done more to motivate abandonment of Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta products than any hackers or criminals in the past 25 years.

• by bruce511 on 4/3/25, 7:28 PM

  I'm interested in your question.

  I'm not sure they will directly affect remote workers. Or at least the mechanism seems unclear.

  Tariffs are currently collected at a port of entry by Customs (CBP staff.)

  Since remote work does not flow through a port, its not clear who would collect this tax (presumably your US employer) or how they would submit it for payment.

  In other words I'm not aware if remote work is classed as an "import" , or how it would be collected and submitted.

  I am keen to hear of any actual legal opinions in this space.

• by Uzmanali on 4/3/25, 10:44 PM

  If the U.S. adds more tariffs, some companies may not want to hire workers from other countries. i work online for different places, so if one country changes its rules, i still have work.

  last time the rules changed, some companies hired people from their own countries instead. if this happens again, it may be harder to find jobs in the U.S.

  to be safe, i try to work with people from many places, not just one.

• by superconduct123 on 4/3/25, 7:34 PM

  Just one anecdote, but I heard of one company hiring more in Canada as the salaries are much cheaper with the exchange rate

• by hulitu on 4/3/25, 4:31 PM

  > Ask HN: How will Trump tarrifs affect remote workers outside US?

  The Whisky is getting expensive. /s