The Asia Pacific (APAC) region was remarkably resilient throughout 2024 and early 2025, navigating challenges such as ongoing geopolitical tensions and China’s economic shifts. Initial projections indicated that the region would grow by 4.5% in 2025; we based our forecast of APAC technology spending on these assumptions. But recent events — specifically, the shifts in global trade policy induced by the US government’s announcement in April that it would impose broad tariffs — have substantially altered the trade landscape and introduced considerable uncertainty into the global economic outlook. It’s critical to note that:

  • The tariffs will upend tech markets … US tariffs are likely to drive up technology prices, disrupt supply chains, and weaken IT investment worldwide as fears of a broader economic slowdown take hold. Advances in key technologies, particularly in the areas of AI and digital finance, continue to be powerful drivers of change across APAC, and concerns around sustainability and labor market dynamics remain important long-term considerations. But the immediate economic headwinds and heightened uncertainty stemming from the new tariff environment are likely to influence the pace, prioritization, and funding of technology initiatives in the coming months.
  • … introducing volatility that complicates forecasting. The detailed forecasts presented in our forecast report reflect the market conditions and expectations that prevailed before the April tariff announcements and do not incorporate the potential dampening effects of these policy changes and the resulting market volatility. Given these developments, our original forecasts may be too optimistic by 1 to 2 percentage points, depending on a country’s trade exposure and the IT spending category in question (e.g., hardware versus software or services). The situation remains highly fluid, and the full impact of new US policy on APAC tech spending will likely take several months to fully manifest.

 

Potential Impact Of US Tariffs On Asia Pacific Technology Markets

A table presenting the potential impact of US tariffs on countries and technology market categories across Asia Pacific, including China, India, ASEAN, Japan, and Australia/New Zealand. This graphic has an associated spreadsheet that includes all data presented. Please access the spreadsheet for details.