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There's hope for enterprises and vendors struggling to assess changes in the way they build and bring products to market during turbulent tariff times and geopolitical unrest.

PwC reported that the average tariff rate on U.S. imports for the technology, media and telecom (TMT) industry could rise from 2% to 44%, significantly increasing costs. The professional services firm said that $739 billion in goods were imported in 2024, with $597 billion entering duty-free. New tariffs could apply to the full $739 billion, greatly affecting the industry.

Estimated annual tariffs would jump from $13 billion to $324 billion -- $133 billion from currently dutiable goods and $192 billion from goods that were previously duty-free. PwC warned that this shift could heavily affect U.S. multinationals that rely on free trade agreements by disrupting established sourcing strategies.

Tariff Tumult's Effect on Telecom Industry

According to David Stehlin, CEO of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), shifting tariff policies are placing a growing burden on the sector, for both small suppliers and large manufacturers.

"Our members are working hard to adapt, but the uncertainty adds cost, delays and risk at a time when we should be accelerating deployment of critical digital infrastructure," Stehlin said.

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TIA is a trade association with more than 400 members. It advocates for the information and communications industry in the U.S., develops international standards and improves business performance, all to advance trusted global connectivity.

U.S. and China on 90-Day Pause

In mid-May, the U.S. and China announced a three-month pause in tariffs, during which the combined U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports decreased to 30% from 145%, while China's levies on U.S. imports fell to 10% from 125%. President Trump had set the higher rates on April 2.

Companies are expected to take advantage of the lower tariffs until the U.S. and China set new, possibly higher ones in negotiations or the pause ends. Changes could reverberate throughout the global economy.

Gauging Effects on Enterprises

During these turbulent times, Tom Nolle, principal analyst at Andover Intel, said he isn't expecting enterprises to freeze important IT projects -- just the opposite.

"Nobody has suggested to me that they're changing their network/IT project plans because of tariffs," Nolle said. "They view the situation as too fluid to react to now, and they plan to deal with tariffs if they start impacting prices significantly.?"

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Most enterprises think they'll wring extra discounts from their vendors to make up the difference, he added.

As the ever-expanding tariff challenges continue from talks, pauses, potential deals and final deal stages, vendor suppliers are of the same mind as their customers, according to Nolle.

"Companies are concerned about how they'd hit their bottom line, not so much how they'd hit prices of IT and network gear," he said.

Collaboration to Beat Higher Costs

Overall, vendors are preparing to deal with increased component costs and have been communicating that to their service provider and enterprise customers, said Jeff Heynen, vice president of broadband access and home networking at Dell'Oro Group.

"As a result, we have seen enterprises and service providers accelerate their equipment purchases to get ahead of the increased costs," Heynen said.

He recommended that enterprises continue to work with their equipment suppliers and VARs to understand cost increases. If necessary, they can potentially go to other reseller sources for equipment.

Vendor strategies

According to Heynen, vendors and their operator customers are evaluating the following strategies in dealing with tariffs.

Move Manufacturing Locations

Vendors that manufacture and assemble equipment in the U.S. but source components from China -- which are subject to the high reciprocal tariffs -- are looking to move manufacturing to Canada or Mexico.

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In these cases, the 10% tariff the vendor would pay on the equipment assembled in Mexico or Canada is far less than the 100% tariff -- or more -- they would pay on the components coming from China.

"This seems counterintuitive to the purpose of the tariffs," Heynen said. "It goes to show how these tariff policies weren't really thought through."

Create Contingency Plans

Vendors with manufacturing facilities in countries outside of China are looking at contingency plans in case tariffs in one country end up higher than another. For example, Heynen noted how the reciprocal tariff on the Philippines was quite lower than Vietnam's. As a result, vendors are looking to potentially move manufacturing to new locations if necessary.

Don't Forget Software

Most software companies have yet to assess the indirect effect of tariffs, particularly when their products are embedded in hardware, according to Dallas Dolen, TMT leader at PwC. For now, he said most are operating business-as-usual and haven't adjusted their go-to-market strategies or demand forecasts.

"But there is a clear blind spot: few are modeling how tariffs could ripple through to affect customer demand, pricing power or competitive positioning," Dolen said.

What's True Resilience?

Technology companies have sought to diversify their supply chains by expanding manufacturing operations in other countries such as India. However, recent geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan have introduced new layers of risk, Dolen said.

"This highlights a critical point: relocating supply chains alone isn't enough," Dolen said. "True resilience demands redundancy, diversification and proactive risk modeling."