Trump Exempts Certain Electronics Including Smartphones from Tariffs
TL/DR –
The Trump administration has exempted electronic imports, including smartphones and computers, from the President’s 125% reciprocal tariffs in an update by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The exemption includes products that are manufactured in China, including hard drives, memory chips, and flat-panel television screens, among others. However, the items still appear to be subject to the 20% tariffs previously imposed on Beijing, and while semiconductors are currently exempt, they may be subject to industry-specific tariffs in the future.
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Trump tariffs exclude some electronics, smartphones
President Trump spared smartphones and computers from his Chinese tariffs.
The Trump administration has exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from Trump’s Chinese tariffs, reducing the potential cost impact on popular tech products.
The exemptions, published Friday by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, include China-made electronics. Other excluded products include hard drives, memory chips, flat-panel TV screens and semiconductors.
This is a key shift in Trump’s tariff strategy amid intensifying U.S.-China trade tensions. The Trump administration reported that China is not among the 75 countries seeking U.S. trade agreements following Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
Trump maintains that his tariffs are crucial for encouraging U.S. manufacturing growth, particularly in the tech industry.
Yet, his Chinese tariffs threatened major tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung Electronics, which manufacture products overseas for U.S. distribution.
Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, is among tech leaders seeking to influence Trump’s tariff decisions. Cook met with Trump and donated $1 million to his inaugural committee.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stresses that “President Trump insists America cannot rely on China for critical technology such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops.\”
Trump has secured “trillions in U.S. investments” from tech giants including Apple, TSMC, and Nvidia, according to Leavitt. Trump has directed these companies to expedite the onshoring of their manufacturing in the U.S.
Bloomberg first reported the tariff exclusions.
Despite the exclusions, the tech items seem to remain under a 20% tariff imposed by Trump on Beijing due to the manufacturing of fentanyl in China.
Although semiconductors are tariff-exempt, Trump has considered imposing industry-specific tariffs on all semiconductor imports. Potential semiconductor tariffs remain under review by the White House.
Trump previously enforced industry-specific universal tariffs on steel, aluminum and auto imports and has indicated forthcoming tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
In the midst of stock market turbulence, Trump postponed for 90 days the reciprocal tariffs he placed on many countries, except for a 10% tariff on all imports.
Trump also increased tariffs on China, raising the total tariff rate on Chinese imports to 145%, leading Beijing to enforce retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
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