‘We would have to sell the lowest-end SKUs at a loss’: Framework says it’s ‘temporarily pausing’ some US laptop sales amid tariff disruption

Modular laptop designer Framework says it is “temporarily pausing US sales” in response to the disruption caused by US tariffs on Taiwanese imports.

The sales pause will apply to a limited number of Laptop 13 configurations, the company confirmed in a statement on social media this week, with models impacted by the decision set to be removed from its online store.

This means the Laptop 13 base systems using Intel Core Ultra 5125H and AMD Ryzen 5 7640U processors will be temporarily unavailable. The company is yet to provide information on when customers will see them back in store.

“For now, these models will be removed from our US site. We will continue to provide updates as we have them.”

When asked about the sales pause by an X user, the firm attributed the move to US tariffs. Other consumer hardware manufacturers have also announced similar moves in response, including Nintendo.

"We priced our laptops when tariffs on imports from Taiwan were 0 percent," the company said. "At a 10 percent tariff, we would have to sell the lowest-end SKUs at a loss."

“Other consumer goods makers have performed the same calculations and taken the same actions, though most have not been open about it.”

Framework’s modular, repairable devices have surged in popularity in recent years.

In February, the firm unveiled the latest addition to its future-proofed laptop range with a new 12-inch touchscreen notebook.

The Framework Laptop 12 will feature 13th generation Intel Core processors in both i3 and i5 variants alongside support for up to 48GB of DDR5-5200 RAM, 2TB of NVMe storage, and Wi-FI6E.

Tariffs spark big tech concerns

The launch of tariffs by the US administration has sparked widespread concerns over costs in both the enterprise and consumer tech markets.

Analysis from IDC earlier this week warned the policy could halve global IT spending over the next six months. The consultancy said the wave of tariffs will likely drive up technology prices and disrupt supply chains.

On the consumer hardware front, Canalys has issued a similar warning. Analysis from the research firm suggests tariffs could hamper worldwide PC shipment growth in the coming months.

Global PC shipments grew by 9% in Q1 2025, Canalys found, with OEMs ramping up shipments to the US in anticipation of the tariffs coming into effect. The next few months could see stunted growth, however.

“As the next round of higher tariffs on more countries goes into effect, both direct and indirect impacts threaten global PC market recovery and Windows 10 end of support induced momentum for the remainder of the year,” Canalys said.

“The impact of tariffs on consumer demand is expected to be greater, as purchasing a more expensive PC will need to be prioritized against other spending categories also facing price increases. Businesses, especially SMBs, will also face some pressure that could slow down momentum for the critical transition away from Windows 10 ahead of the October 2025 End-of-Support (EOS) date.”

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