The World Is At War (On Trade). Repair Is A Tool For Survival.

A right to repair is emerging as a critical tool for survival as a global trade war ignites, spiking the cost of everything from cars to clothing. Also: Windows 10's end is near. What comes next?

Stock markets in Asia, Europe and North America are tumbling following the Trump Administration’s move last week to impose tariffs of 10% on nearly every country that the United States trades with, as well as higher tariffs on major trading partners such as China, where the tariffs will reach 60% or more.

That move resulted in the imposition of reciprocal tariffs by China and other countries designed to increase the cost of U.S. exports and inflict pain on the U.S. economy in the hopes of bringing about a change of course for the Trump Administration and a relaxation of its punishing tariffs.

Contents:
+ Windows 10 is dying. What comes next? 
+ Fashion’s Circular Future Hinges on Changing Behavior
+ Fixing Big Tech Market Abuses Demands More Than Fines
+ UK Signals Green Shift with Circular Economy Roadmap
+ Bipartisan Bill Revives Automotive Right to Repair
+ Restart Project’s 2025–2030 Strategy: Go Big on System Change
+ Europe’s Auto Giants Colluded to Stall Vehicle Recycling
+ In Absence of Federal Repair Law, Compliance Headaches Mount
+ Editorial: Repair Isn’t a Luxury—It’s a Consumer Right

But hopes for a reversal - at least in the short term - are dim. And that reality is prompting countries caught up in the new trade war to contemplate a different future: one in which cheaply produced, disposable clothes, electronics and other products are no longer the norm. In that future, our globalized, throw away economy where the mantra has been “its cheaper to replace it” gives way to a more localized and circular economy sustained by diverse incentives to make long-lived, fix-able products and to empower owners and economies with a robust right to repair.

Canada: Running Circles Around The U.S.

Evidence of that emerging, circular future is already on display. For example, a recent Repair Café event in Ottawa, Canada, hosted by the Ottawa Tool Library spotlighted that country’s push toward a circular economy in the face of U.S. tariffs and protectionism. Volunteers at the event repaired household items while circular economy advocates highlighted how keeping goods working and in circulation was a way for that country to lessen the impact of supply chain vulnerabilities and economic pressures from its southern neighbor.

Outside of the Cafe, a group calling itself the Peoples Official Plan coalition, which is made up of groups such as Ecology Ottawa and Just Food wrote to Ottawa’s Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to recommend promoting local food and energy sovereignty and a local, circular economy as a way to push back against U.S. tariffs.

It’s The Economy Climate, Stupid!

Nudging countries such as Canada and the U.S. towards more circular economies isn’t a new idea. In the face of mounting climate and resource crises, circular economy thinking has evolved in the last two decades from an ideal- to a necessary outcome. Climate experts warn that linear, extractive models are unsustainable—and that reusing, repairing, and designing out waste are the only paths forward for a livable future.

The sudden, global trade war only underscores that. As trade tensions mount broadening the availability of device repair will serve as an important form of economic resilience in affected countries while also moving the globe away from the wasteful “linear” economies built on extraction, cheap production and planned obsolescence.

This is a fast-evolving story. Stay tuned for more coverage of the impact of tariffs and trade wars on how we make (and sustain) our stuff in future editions of Fight to Repair Newsletter!

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Other News

Windows 10 Is Dying. What Comes Next?

As Microsoft ends support for Windows 10, tens or even hundreds of millions of still-functional devices face obsolescence, The Restart Project warns in a blog post. The end of support for Windows 10, which runs more than half of all desktop PCs, will unleash a tidal wave of vulnerable Windows devices and/or e-waste unless governments and tech makers act fast to extend software lifespans and support legacy hardware. That’s because much of the hardware running Windows 10 is not compatible with its successor OS, Windows 11. That means Windows 10 device owners face difficult decisions when Microsoft ends support for the Windows 10 operating system in October of this year. The easiest course of action, as the Restart Project points out, is simply to do nothing: let the devices running Windows 10 continue to do so and ignore that absence of software and security updates until…it’s too late and devices become compromised by malicious actors who exploit unpatched flaws in the OS.

Upgrading motherboards or processor chips is difficult and not an option with many systems (such as those based on Intel processors). Buying extended support from Microsoft may be costly and will only buy Windows 10 owners time - not serve as a permanent fix. One option: installing third party patches from vendors such as 0patch.com, though that comes with a price tag, as well.

The coming crisis, which experts have warned about for years, underscores the need for new regulations governing decisions by manufacturers to cease support and discontinue security updates for deployed hardware and software. For more on that, check out the Secure Resilient Future Foundation website.
Read more about the Windows 10 EOL on The Restart Project website!

Fashion’s Circular Future Hinges on Changing Behavior

The fashion industry is warming to the circular economy—but there’s a catch: consumers must shift how they shop and discard, according to an article at the UK publication Fashion United. Experts say real change won't come just from better materials or recycling tech. We need cultural transformation to curb overconsumption. The takeaway? A circular fashion future relies not only on designers and brands, but on buyers willing to break up with fast fashion.
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Fixing Big Tech Market Abuses Demands More Than Fines

There’s been much written on the growing consensus in both North America and the EU over monopolies- especially those that have sprung out of Silicon Valley such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon. That has led to large fines in recent months. For example, Google was ordered by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to pay a €2.4 billion fine for prioritizing its own shopping service over rivals in search results. While the ECJ ordered Apple to pay €13 billion in unpaid taxes to Ireland, concluding that the tax advantages it received amounted to an illegal advantage. Those fines might sound like a serious push back, but its not. As this blog points out: tech giants like Google and Apple earn enough to simply shrug off the fines they receive. That means reining in Big Tech is going to take more than wrist slaps. That was the message that Morgan Harper of the American Economic Liberties Project delivered to a Senate Judiciary Committee recently. In testimony, Harper pushed for structural remedies—breaking up monopolies, not just regulating them. She warned that current enforcement fails to address how tech giants exploit their dominance to crush innovation and competition.
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UK Signals Green Shift with Circular Economy Roadmap

The UK government has announced its intention to pivot the nation’s economy toward a circular model. The plan—still light on details—promises policies supporting reuse, repair, and waste reduction. Critics want firmer commitments, but environmental advocates see the move as a sign the UK is finally aligning economic goals with ecological boundaries.
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Bipartisan Bill Revives Automotive Right to Repair

Lawmakers are again pushing federal legislation to enshrine Americans’ right to repair their cars, after similar bills have stalled in Congress in recent years. A bi-partisan group of 27 House lawmakers is pushing H.R. 1566 (aka the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act) after re-introducing the bill in late February. The bill creates a federal equivalent of automotive laws that have passed in Massachusetts and Maine: mandating that manufacturers make diagnostic tools and data available to independent mechanics and consumers.

Such legislation enjoys broad public support across the political spectrum, as a new op-ed in RealClearPolicy makes clear. Republic Rep Neal Dunn, who represents Florida’s 2nd District, writes that the REPAIR Act, which would let car owners—not automakers—control who accesses their vehicle data is about leveling the playing field for independent repair shops, ensuring consumers aren't locked into pricey dealership repairs just to fix a broken sensor or transmission.

The federal action follows recent victories at the state level. In Massachusetts, a ruling by a Federal judge in a nearly five year-old case affirmed a 2020 ballot initiative requiring automakers to share telematics data with vehicle owners and independent repairers. Advocates hope it paves the way for stronger federal protections.
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Restart Project’s 2025–2030 Strategy: Go Big on System Change

The UK-based Restart Project has been a prime mover behind pro-repair legislation and policies in both the EU and UK in recent years. Now the group is looking to broaden its mission. Last week, The Restart Project unveiled an ambitious five-year plan centered on scaling repair networks, shaping EU policy, and pushing manufacturers to build repairable tech. Their mission? Shift repair from a niche movement to a mainstream right.
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Europe’s Auto Giants Colluded to Stall Vehicle Recycling

The European Commission fined 15 automakers and automotive suppliers $495 million for colluding to suppress vehicle recycling and “greenwash” their vehicles. Environmentenergyleader.com reports that the EC determined automakers formed a cartel designed to stifle the development of circular economy forces in automobiles. At the heart of that cartel was an agreement not to advertise vehicle recyclability or to reveal to would be buyers the amount of recycled content in new vehicles. According to the EC, this coordinated suppression of consumer-facing sustainability claims represented “a form of greenwashing by omission.” "We will not tolerate cartels of any kind, and that includes those that suppress customer awareness and demand for more environmentally friendly products," Teresa Ribera, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition was quoted as saying.

By withholding this information, the automakers blocked market dynamics that reward environmental innovation and prevented consumers from making informed choices. In the process, the automakers’ collusion stifled innovation and kept sustainable systems like closed-loop recycling on the sidelines.
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In Absence of Federal Repair Law, Compliance Headaches Mount

A Reed Smith legal briefing maps the growing patchwork of U.S. right to repair laws—and the compliance chaos it’s causing for manufacturers. The takeaway? The movement’s gaining steam, but companies face mounting pressure to track and adjust to fast-evolving rules.
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Editorial: Repair Isn’t a Luxury—It’s a Consumer Right

In a sharply worded editorial, Carter County Times argues consumers shouldn’t need a law degree—or a dealership mechanic—to fix what they own. The piece lays bare how modern products are increasingly designed to block repair, and urges lawmakers to stand with consumers, not corporations.
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