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HR leaders are typically the ones to manage return-to-office policies. But just because they’re enforcing them, doesn’t mean they believe that they’re best for workers.

56% of HR leaders say they’re being pressured by CEOs to mandate in-office work arrangements, according to a new report of 1,000 human resource leaders from people-focused software platform Leapsome. However, 70% believe that collaboration can be just as effective out of the office and 79% say allowing employees to choose their work environment is best for productivity.

“During COVID we all learned that remote works, and that it helps people, and in fact, employees ask for it,” says Luck Dookchitra, VP of people and culture at Leapsome. “So there is a unique tension that arises, especially if [an RTO] policy is driven solely by leadership.”

Ensuring that HR leaders are able to manage CEO expectations while keeping their people happy certainly isn’t an easy task. However, Dookchitra says it helps if HR leaders can get to the root of why executives are so keen on getting workers back into the office, and share that sentiment in a way employees can relate to. She says that explaining the “why” behind such a directive is just as important as explaining the “how.”

“Even if you’re against it personally, you need to find a reason why,” says Dookchitra. “I think why it feels so stressful for HR leaders because they’re not providing a reason, many of them are just putting out a directive, and hoping for the best, which often doesn’t go well.” 

Dookchitra advises that when CHROs approach CEOs about RTO policies, they must be prepared, especially if they’re taking the opposing side. That means having data and insights from their own organization to see how policy changes are affecting the company on a larger scale. 

“Most of the time you don’t have an option, you have to agree and commit,” says Dookchitra. “So it’s really important to put forward the data, insights from your own organization, on employee sentiment and candidate feedback; so at the end of the day you have what you need to make your point, whether or not it’s going to go your way.”

Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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China again vowed to “fight to the end” Wednesday in an escalating trade war with the U.S. as it announced it would raise tariffs on American goods to 84% from Thursday.

Beijing also added an array of countermeasures after U.S. President Donald Trump raised the total tariff on imports from China to 104%.

“If the U.S. insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end,” the Ministry of Commerce wrote in a statement introducing its white paper on trade with the U.S.

The government declined to say whether it would negotiate with the White House, as many other countries have started doing.

On Friday, China announced a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the U.S, export controls on rare earths minerals, and a slew of other measures in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. Trump then added an additional 50% tariff on goods from China, saying negotiations with them were terminated.

So far, China has not appeared interested in bargaining. “If the U.S. truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian Wednesday.

The paper says that the U.S. has not honored the promises it made in the phase 1 trade deal concluded during Trump’s first term. As an example, it said that a U.S. law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company violates a promise that neither would “pressure the other party to transfer technology to its own individuals.”

Trump signed an order to keep TikTok running for another 75 days last week after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice. ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.

The paper also argued that taking into account trade in services and U.S. companies’ domestic Chinese branches, economic exchange between the two countries is “roughly in balance.”

It says that China had a trade in services deficit with the U.S. of $26.57 billion in 2023, which is composed of industries like insurance, banking and accounting. Trump’s tariffs were designed to close trade deficits with foreign countries, but those were calculated only based on trades in physical, tangible goods.

“History and facts have proven that the United States’ increase in tariffs will not solve its own problems,” said the statement from the Chinese commerce ministry. “Instead, it will trigger sharp fluctuations in financial markets, push up U.S. inflation pressure, weaken the U.S. industrial base and increase the risk of a U.S. economic recession, which will ultimately only backfire on itself.

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• Apple’s market cap has plummeted by $700 billion as its stock takes a beating in the aftermath of Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs. The company is uniquely exposed to Trump’s tariffs on China, as it produces most of its moneymaker iPhones in the country. If CEO Tim Cook can’t secure tariff exemptions for the company, as he did during the first Trump administration, the blow could be “a complete disaster,” according to Wedbush Securities analysts.

Apple’s market cap has collapsed by $700 billion in the days following Trump’s “liberation day” as investors realized just how much new tariffs will hit the tech giant’s biggest moneymaker.

In the three days after Trump announced new eye-popping tariffs on U.S. trading partners, Apple stock plummeted 19%, making it the worst drop over the same period since 2001. Since April 2, Apple’s stock rout has chipped away about $700 billion from its market cap, dropping it to $2.6 trillion as of Monday from about $3.3 trillion last week. From $223 per share last week, Apple’s share price, as of Tuesday, had fallen to $175, and was down 3% in afternoon trading.

The stock rout comes as analysts warn the company’s biggest moneymaker, the iPhone, is at major risk from President Trump’s mega-tariffs because of its supply chain in Asia. While Apple secured exemptions when Trump instituted tariffs during his first administration, it’s unclear if CEO Tim Cook will be able to secure the same treatment this time.

“The tariff economic Armageddon unleashed by Trump is a complete disaster for Apple given its massive China production exposure,” Wedbush Securities analysts led by Dan Ives wrote in a Sunday note. “In our view, no US tech company is more negatively impacted by these tariffs than Apple with 90% of iPhones produced and assembled in China.”

Despite Trump’s plan to use tariff pressure to bring more manufacturing to the U.S., analysts estimate moving even one-tenth of Apple’s supply chain to the U.S. would cost $30 billion and take three years. If Apple passes increased costs to consumers, the price of an iPhone could skyrocket.

The price of Apple’s cheapest iPhone 16 could jump to $1142 from its announced price tag of $799, Reuters reported, citing analysts at Rosenblatt Securities. The price of an iPhone 16 Pro Max with 1 terabyte of storage could jump from $1,599 to about $2,300, the analysts estimated.

Apple did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.

The current tariffs at 32% for Taiwan and 54% for China would be especially “devastating” to Apple and its costs, the analysts wrote. Trump also said Tuesday he would follow through with the additional tariffs of 50% he threatened against China for retaliating against the United States’ initial tariff hikes last week. If instituted at midnight as planned, cumulative tariffs on China would be around 104%.

Apple has diversified its supply chain away from China in recent years, but Wedbush analysts estimate that along with most iPhones, 50% of Mac products and 75% to 80% of iPads are still made in China. 

The tech giant has also shifted production to Vietnam, including about 90% of its wearables like the Apple Watch, according to Evercore ISI. Yet, Apple’s imports to the U.S. from Vietnam will, as of now, also be hit with a 46% tariff.

Apple now produces about 1 in 7 iPhones, or $14 billion worth of the products, in India, Bloomberg reported. Imports from India still face a tariff of 26%.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com