Claire Cain Miller

Even as Washington grapples with the diplomatic and political fallout of the Snowden leaks, the more urgent issue, companies and analysts say, is economic.

It is impossible to see now the full economic ramifications of the spying disclosures -- in part because most companies are locked in multiyear contracts -- but the pieces are beginning to add up as businesses question the trustworthiness of American technology products. Despite the tech companies’ assertions that they provide information on their customers only when required under law -- and not knowingly through a back door -- the perception that they enabled the spying program has lingered.