Trump denies tariff break for tech
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More news: President Donald Trump denied there was a tariff “exception” for electronics, saying on Truth Social that the products are “subject to the existing 20% fentanyl tariffs” and are “just moving to a different tariff ‘bucket.’”
What they said: He wrote, “nobody is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair trade balances, and non monetary tariff barriers, that other countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!”
He said the US would investigate semiconductors and “the whole electronics supply chain” as part of its upcoming “national security tariff investigations.”
He called China “hostile” and accused it of doing “everything within its power to disrespect the American People.”
The post comes after the US issued a rule Friday that excluded smartphones, laptops and hard drives from new reciprocal tariffs.
That rule had prompted relief in the tech sector, but Trump insisted there was “no Tariff ‘exception.’”
It comes as Wall Street leaders increasingly believe the US economy is skirting recession, and as economists downgrade forecasts following Trump’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcement.
Lutnick says tariff exemptions temporary, semiconductors to face fresh levies
More news: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the smartphones, computers and other electronics that were exempted Friday from tariffs on Chinese imports will be included in forthcoming levies tied to semiconductors.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Lutnick said those products will face “a special focus-type of tariff” in “a month or two” and are not part of a “permanent sort of exemption.”
The exemption applies to about US$390 billion ($624.7 billion) in imports, including more than US$101 billion from China, according to 2024 statistics cited by Bloomberg.
What they said: Lutnick said the tariffs aim to “reshore” production of national security-related items. He added a federal registry notice would be published this week.
It comes after the Trump’s administration had granted the exclusions from the 125% reciprocal tariffs on Friday, seen as a reprieve for companies like Apple and Dell.
China on Sunday had called the move a “small step” and urged the US to “take a big stride in completely abolishing the wrongful action, and return to the correct path of resolving differences through equal dialog based on mutual respect.”
China says US tariff exemptions a ‘small step’ toward fixing mistake
More news: In a statement shared by China’s Ministry of Commerce on Sunday, the government said the US’ decision to exempt key consumer electronics from reciprocal tariffs is a “small step” toward correcting its wrongs and said Washington should revoke the levies entirely.
The statement says that the tariffs have violated basic economic and market laws and ignore co-operation and supply-demand relationships between countries. It adds that the tariffs have failed to solve any of the US’ own problems and have undermined the international economic and trade order.
“We urge the US to face up to the rational voices of the international community and domestic parties, take a big step in correcting its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of "reciprocal tariffs", and return to the right path of mutual respect and resolving differences through equal dialogue,” the Ministry said.
Trump excludes smartphones from reciprocal tariffs
The news: The Trump administration has granted exclusions from tariffs to smartphones, computers and other electronics from imported China, a relief for big tech companies whose supply chains rely on imported goods.
The numbers: Around 20 product categories have been excluded from the tariffs, products include computers, laptops, disc drives, automatic data processing, semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays among others.
The context: The US Customs and Border Protection agency posted the notice on Friday evening, outlining the product categories which would be exempt from the tariffs, but did not provide any explanation behind the decision to exclude the products. The tariffs exclusions will apply retroactively from 5 April.
The exclusion only applies to Trump's reciprocal tariffs on Chinese imports, which climbed to 125% this week, while the previously announced 20% duties on all Chinese imports that Trump said were related to the US fentanyl crisis remain in place. The specified electronics goods will also be excluded from the President’s 10% baseline tariffs.
Apple had been scrambling to devise a plan after the tariffs were announced last month, which saw rapidly escalating tariff increases between the world’s two biggest economies threaten to upend the tech giant’s supply chain. Apple has been working to diversify its supply chain away from China toward India, having assembled USD22 billion ($35.3 billion) worth of iPhones in India in the 12 months ending March. 20% of Apple’s iPhones are now manufactured in India.
The news will come as a welcome relief to US based tech companies, including Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple, which have all been impacted by market turmoil as trade tariffs between the US and China intensified over the last week.
