At CES opening, organizer slams tariff policies
TRADE SHOWS
STEVE MARCUS
Gary Shapiro, CEO and vice chair of the Consumer Technology Association, speaks out against tariffs Tuesday before a Panasonic keynote at the opening of CES 2025 at the Venetian.
Gary Shapiro, CEO and vice chair of the Consumer Technology Association, speaks out against tariffs Tuesday before a Panasonic keynote at the opening of CES 2025 at the Venetian.
Kicking off CES on Tuesday morning in front of a packed crowd at the Venetian, the show’s organizers weren’t afraid of addressing the elephant in the room: President-elect Donald Trump will reenter the White House in two weeks.
Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro criticized one of the cornerstones of Trump’s policies — tariffs — without directly naming the Republican.
The U.S. needs to find “a way to break through the gridlock” and recognize “that tariffs are taxes paid for by American businesses and the American people,” Shapiro said to applause from the audience in Las Vegas.
The proposed tariffs — 10% on Chinese products and 25% on Mexican and Canadian imports, among others — could reduce American consumer purchasing power by up to $143 billion in a year, according to a Consumer Technology Association (CTA) study.
The study projected laptop and tablet purchases could decline by as much as 68% because of the tariffs. For gaming consoles, the decline could be 58%; and it would be 37% for smartphones.
“With the growing scrutiny of the tech ecosystem and a new U.S. administration coming soon, the conversations that we’re having here at CES over the next four days have never been more important,” said Kinsey Fabrizio, the CTA president.
Throughout the CTA’s state of the industry talk, speakers highlighted artificial intelligence burrowing into every industry and the organization’s recent foray into quantum technology.
Trump has had a tumultuous relationship with the industry the CTA represents.
In 2020, the incoming president accused Twitter, now X, of interfering with the presidential election when it added a fact check to his claims of mail ballot fraud.
In a book published in September, Trump wrote that Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg conspired against him during the 2020 election, saying he would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he did it again.
That animosity is waning.
Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, who now also owns X, is set to run Trump’s proposed Department of Governmental Efficiency.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
And Tuesday, Zuckerberg announced the rollback of Meta’s fact-checking program, now focusing on community notes like Musk’s social media platform.
Trump said Tuesday that Zuckerberg was “probably” responding to his previous threats, telling Fox News that Meta had “come a long way.”
While Musk won’t speak at CES, X is one of eight companies hosting a keynote at the show.
On Tuesday morning, Panasonic was the star of the show.
In 2024, the Japanese company brought in nearly $60 billion in revenue, according to Forbes. By 2035, Panasonic — known for its electronics, appliances and cameras — wants 30% of that revenue coming from software and “AI-enabled solutions.”
The company is planning to reach its lofty goals through “Panasonic Go,” an initiative prioritizing Panasonic’s shift to AI.
“This transformation will change everything you know about Panasonic,” said Yuki Kusumi, the company’s CEO, who later added that “we’re not starting from scratch. We have already invested more than $10 billion in North America.”
One of those investments is Blue Yonder, an Arizona-based company looking to further integrate AI into the global supply chain. For its users, that means having AI forecast and identify risks that could prevent shelves from being stocked.
“We’re building autonomous AI agents for various supply chain roles,” said Wayne Usie, the company’s chief strategy officer.
The bots “will synthesize data, generate content, solve repetitive tasks, perform root cause analysis, recommend solutions and even execute decisions.”
Panasonic later highlighted “Umi,” an upcoming platform designed for overwhelmed parents and the rest of their family.
Along with being able to text with other family members, the service has an AI bot that can work as an event planner, personal assistant and wellness coach.
The CTA also made some announcements.
CTA board member Debbie Taylor Moore said the organization had made a “major investment” into the Quantum World Congress, a new Washington conference focusing on emerging technology.
If AI is the defining technology of the 2020s, quantum computing will define the next decade, Moore said.
The organization also shared news about a $5 million investment in underrepresented entrepreneurs such as women, people of color and veterans.
The money is on top of CTA’s $10 million investment in the program in 2019.
And while the four-day show can feel massive in scale, Fabrizio and Shapiro wanted attendees to focus on the personal impact technology can provide. Fabrizio talked about her father-in-law, who recently started using the country’s first over-the-counter hearing aids: Apple’s AirPods Pro.
“Between the jolly chatter and the rowdy children — it’s a big Italian family — those AirPods came just in time,” she said.
“We spend a lot of our time talking about the big picture of technology, like its power to drive economic growth, boost our stock portfolios and change industries,”
Shapiro added. “That’s all important, but really it’s just as important to talk about how technology changes our individual lives.” kyle.chouinard@gmgvegas.com / 702-990-8923 / @Kyle_Chouinard
Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro criticized one of the cornerstones of Trump’s policies — tariffs — without directly naming the Republican.
The U.S. needs to find “a way to break through the gridlock” and recognize “that tariffs are taxes paid for by American businesses and the American people,” Shapiro said to applause from the audience in Las Vegas.
The proposed tariffs — 10% on Chinese products and 25% on Mexican and Canadian imports, among others — could reduce American consumer purchasing power by up to $143 billion in a year, according to a Consumer Technology Association (CTA) study.
The study projected laptop and tablet purchases could decline by as much as 68% because of the tariffs. For gaming consoles, the decline could be 58%; and it would be 37% for smartphones.
“With the growing scrutiny of the tech ecosystem and a new U.S. administration coming soon, the conversations that we’re having here at CES over the next four days have never been more important,” said Kinsey Fabrizio, the CTA president.
Throughout the CTA’s state of the industry talk, speakers highlighted artificial intelligence burrowing into every industry and the organization’s recent foray into quantum technology.
Trump has had a tumultuous relationship with the industry the CTA represents.
In 2020, the incoming president accused Twitter, now X, of interfering with the presidential election when it added a fact check to his claims of mail ballot fraud.
In a book published in September, Trump wrote that Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg conspired against him during the 2020 election, saying he would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he did it again.
That animosity is waning.
Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, who now also owns X, is set to run Trump’s proposed Department of Governmental Efficiency.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
And Tuesday, Zuckerberg announced the rollback of Meta’s fact-checking program, now focusing on community notes like Musk’s social media platform.
Trump said Tuesday that Zuckerberg was “probably” responding to his previous threats, telling Fox News that Meta had “come a long way.”
While Musk won’t speak at CES, X is one of eight companies hosting a keynote at the show.
On Tuesday morning, Panasonic was the star of the show.
In 2024, the Japanese company brought in nearly $60 billion in revenue, according to Forbes. By 2035, Panasonic — known for its electronics, appliances and cameras — wants 30% of that revenue coming from software and “AI-enabled solutions.”
The company is planning to reach its lofty goals through “Panasonic Go,” an initiative prioritizing Panasonic’s shift to AI.
“This transformation will change everything you know about Panasonic,” said Yuki Kusumi, the company’s CEO, who later added that “we’re not starting from scratch. We have already invested more than $10 billion in North America.”
One of those investments is Blue Yonder, an Arizona-based company looking to further integrate AI into the global supply chain. For its users, that means having AI forecast and identify risks that could prevent shelves from being stocked.
“We’re building autonomous AI agents for various supply chain roles,” said Wayne Usie, the company’s chief strategy officer.
The bots “will synthesize data, generate content, solve repetitive tasks, perform root cause analysis, recommend solutions and even execute decisions.”
Panasonic later highlighted “Umi,” an upcoming platform designed for overwhelmed parents and the rest of their family.
Along with being able to text with other family members, the service has an AI bot that can work as an event planner, personal assistant and wellness coach.
The CTA also made some announcements.
CTA board member Debbie Taylor Moore said the organization had made a “major investment” into the Quantum World Congress, a new Washington conference focusing on emerging technology.
If AI is the defining technology of the 2020s, quantum computing will define the next decade, Moore said.
The organization also shared news about a $5 million investment in underrepresented entrepreneurs such as women, people of color and veterans.
The money is on top of CTA’s $10 million investment in the program in 2019.
And while the four-day show can feel massive in scale, Fabrizio and Shapiro wanted attendees to focus on the personal impact technology can provide. Fabrizio talked about her father-in-law, who recently started using the country’s first over-the-counter hearing aids: Apple’s AirPods Pro.
“Between the jolly chatter and the rowdy children — it’s a big Italian family — those AirPods came just in time,” she said.
“We spend a lot of our time talking about the big picture of technology, like its power to drive economic growth, boost our stock portfolios and change industries,”
Shapiro added. “That’s all important, but really it’s just as important to talk about how technology changes our individual lives.” kyle.chouinard@gmgvegas.com / 702-990-8923 / @Kyle_Chouinard