As global headlines focus on trillion-dollar bills and mega-corporate earnings, the real human toll of President Donald Trump’s expanding tariff regime is often overlooked. While trade wars are typically framed as battles between nations or economic strategies, what’s unfolding across America’s tech sector tells a more intimate, alarming story—one about shifting prices, job uncertainty, and everyday consumers caught in the middle.

This earnings season has exposed fault lines across the tech industry, revealing which business models can withstand economic turbulence and which are beginning to crack. The results make one thing clear: Trump’s escalating trade tariffs are no longer an abstract economic lever—they’re a direct hit to American workers, families, and consumers.

For years, the tech sector has been portrayed as immune to economic disruption, a kind of digital fortress. But that image is fading. While advertising-heavy companies like Meta and Alphabet have so far remained resilient, others more dependent on physical goods and consumer spending—Apple, Amazon, Airbnb, and Block—are reeling under the weight of rising costs and uncertain demand.

Apple, for instance, has disclosed that it expects $900 million in added costs from tariffs this quarter alone. The company’s response has been swift but telling: it’s rapidly shifting production to India and Vietnam to sidestep U.S.-China trade penalties. Apple CEO Tim Cook even projected that “the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. will have India as their country of origin” going forward. That may keep profits afloat, but it also means more offshoring—and fewer manufacturing opportunities for American workers.

Amazon, another consumer giant, is also feeling the pinch. With the expiration of the de minimis loophole—previously allowing imports under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free—and tariffs now as high as 145% on some Chinese goods, the retail giant issued light guidance. Though its advertising division continues to buoy earnings, the company warned of “recessionary fears” among its customers.

What do all these figures mean to the average American? Quite a lot. First, the cost of consumer goods—from electronics to clothing to home goods—is likely to rise as companies pass on the burden of tariffs to customers. A $1,000 iPhone, for instance, may now cost $1,050 or more—not due to innovation, but because of a tariff. Second, job security is quietly eroding. As companies like Apple shift supply chains abroad, American workers are likely to bear the cost. Fewer domestic jobs in manufacturing, logistics, and tech support can ripple through communities, particularly in areas already vulnerable to automation and outsourcing.

Third, spending habits are changing, and not for the better. Airbnb reported “softness” in cross-border travel, with U.S.-bound tourism from Canada declining. Chipotle and Delta Airlines echoed similar sentiments, noting a significant drop in consumer activity. In essence, the American household is tightening its belt—less travel, fewer meals out, and more financial anxiety. This isn’t speculative fearmongering. Consumer confidence data from the Conference Board now shows the expectations index at its lowest point since October 2011. According to board officials, the reading is consistent with a looming recession.

Despite the storm, some companies are managing to stay afloat—for now. Meta and Alphabet reported strong ad revenue growth, but even they acknowledge cracks on the horizon. Meta’s CFO, Susan Li, admitted that Asian e-commerce clients are pulling back ad spending, and some of that ad budget “has been redirected to other markets,” a polite way of saying the global uncertainty is far from over.

But these corporate strategies offer little comfort to average Americans. When a company like Block issues a cautious outlook and revises its profit expectations downward, it signals more than shareholder disappointment—it often means layoffs, hiring freezes, or pay stagnation for workers. While Trump has branded his tariff policies as “America First,” the evidence increasingly shows they are affecting the very people they claim to protect. Consumers face higher prices, workers face diminished job prospects, and businesses operate under an ever-shifting policy fog that makes long-term planning impossible.

More broadly, the narrative that tariffs punish foreign governments while shielding domestic interests is collapsing under economic reality. In truth, tariffs function as a hidden tax on ordinary people. The person paying more for groceries, electronics, or travel isn’t a Chinese exporter—it’s a schoolteacher in Ohio, a single parent in Texas, or a college graduate in Seattle trying to make rent. As the Senate debates sweeping fiscal bills and markets react to the latest interest rate cuts, the broader social consequences of tariff policy must remain front and center. Economic tools like tariffs are not neutral—they come with winners and losers. And increasingly, it seems, the losers are everyday Americans watching their spending power erode, their job security decline, and their future feel less certain.

In a country still grappling with inequality and polarization, trade wars add yet another layer of pressure. If policy continues to prioritize corporate resilience over social welfare, then the question must be asked: Who, really, is this economy working for?