July 24, 2025

Don’t Let Tariffs Ruin America’s Quantum Leadership

By: Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante

This article was originally published on the Washington Examiner.

Preparing to implement sweeping new tariffs, the Trump administration should consider an under-appreciated victim of the trade wars: America’s quantum technology leadership. Without swift carveouts for critical quantum inputs and a domestic supply chain strategy, the United States risks surrendering a strategic edge that the first Trump administration worked hard to cultivate.

Quantum computers, sensors, and networks that harness subatomic physics could dramatically transform fields from drug discovery to resource exploration to communications. This might bring vast economic benefits and new battlefield and cyber capabilities to reshape global power. The long-awaited quantum revolution is underway: sensors are beginning to be adopted in military platforms for high-precision, resilient navigation amid GPS vulnerabilities, and several companies have unveiled computing breakthroughs. Major advances toward practical applications are expected within three to five years.

Mounting costs and bureaucracy are derailing U.S. quantum innovation.

In his first term, President Donald Trump rightly made quantum a priority, spurring a national strategy and unprecedented R&D investments. But despite boasting the largest concentration of quantum organizations, America’s lead remains fragile. China dominates in quantum communications and is rapidly closing the gap in computing and sensing capabilities. Meanwhile, Europe just unveiled a revamped quantum strategy, aiming for global leadership by 2030. Washington must keep its eyes on the prize: the first mover in quantum will unlock defense and commercial capabilities, secure emerging markets, and attract top talent and investments — self-reinforcing gains that could cement leadership for years to come.

Yet just as the quantum race intensifies, U.S. tariffs are throwing a wrench into America’s quantum innovation engine. For a fledgling industry constrained by tight budgets and a thin, global supplier base spanning Europe, China, Japan, and more, the current 10% baseline tariffs and higher duties on certain countries are already imposing crippling costs, multi-month procurement bottlenecks, and potentially irreversible setbacks in technology development.

Read the full article on Washington Examiner.

More from CNAS

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia