Trump excludes tariffs on Phone, laptops, chips; exemption on Chinese products too
PTC News Desk: The Donald Trump administration has declared that various electronic goods—such as smartphones, laptops, and semiconductor chips, many of which are imported from China—will be exempt from retaliatory tariffs. According to a notice from US Customs and Border Protection, these items will not face the existing 145 percent tariffs imposed on Chinese products or the standard 10 percent tariffs applied to other countries.
According to estimates from a U.S. agency, approximately 80 percent of Apple’s iPhone production and assembly occurs in China, with the remaining 20 percent taking place in India.
Besides smartphones and computers, the list of exempted items also includes disk drives, data processing machines, semiconductor components and tools, memory chips, flat-panel displays, telecommunications gear, chip manufacturing equipment, recording devices, and printed circuit board assemblies, among others—most of which are seldom produced within the United States.
Trump had introduced broad reciprocal tariffs on several countries, citing trade imbalances with the United States. However, just 13 hours after implementing the new duties on April 9, he temporarily lifted them for most nations—excluding China—for a 90-day period.
The administration imposed a sharp 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports, effectively igniting a trade war between the world’s two largest economies, while retaining a standard 10 percent tariff for other countries.
This sudden reversal came in response to widespread international criticism of the tariffs announced the week before, which had triggered a four-day global market selloff, disrupted business operations, and heightened concerns that both the U.S. and global economies might slide into recession.
- With inputs from agencies
