As Chinese-made gadgets face tariff pressure, is now the time to buy a new phone?

Open this photo in gallery: A person waits in line at a phone kiosk at a mall in Toronto, Wednesday April 23, 2025. (Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail)Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail Consumers on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border are bracing for blowback from potential American tariffs on electronics and their components alongside existing levies on Chinese imports. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday showed signs of backpedalling on his threats in the global trade war. If he doesn't, however, shoppers can expect the price of smartphones, gaming devices, rice cookers, washing machines and a host of tech gadgets…