Trump excludes smartphones, computers, chips from higher tariffs
- The Trump administration has excluded smartphones, computers, and other electronics from tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.
- The exemptions do not apply to all tariffs, with some pre-existing tariffs still in effect.
- The exclusions include machines used by companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make semiconductors.
- Products subject to the 20% duty for fentanyl-related shipments and other tariffs are still affected, despite being exempt from higher tariff rates.
The Trump administration has excluded “smartphones, computers, and other electronics,” even those imported from China, from tariffs it levied last week, reports Bloomberg. The exemptions don’t free them from all tariffs, though, as the outlet says others from before Trump’s April 9th tariffs still apply.
Late last night, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updated its guidance to exempt smartphones, laptops, hard drives, computer processors, and memory chips from the 125 percent additional tariff Trump placed on Chinese goods and the base 10 percent global tariff on most other countries, according to Bloomberg. The same goes for the machines used by companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make semiconductors, the outlet writes.
After this story was published, Bloomberg updated its story to add that the White House published a memo “indicating that the exemptions also extend to changes in small-parcel shipping duties.” As the outlet notes, Trump’s tariff plans included getting rid of duty-free shipping on low-value packages. The President had tripled the rates for such packages in an executive order amendment published on Tuesday night.
Bloomberg also says in its updated story that products excluded in the CBP’s update are still subject to “a 20% duty applied to pressure Beijing to crack down on fentanyl, including the shipment of precursor materials,” as well as other tariffs, “including those that predate Trump’s current term.”
The news follows Trump’s decision to issue a “90-day pause” on higher tariff rates for most countries, while increasing the total rate for Chinese imports to 145 percent, the same day they went into effect.
It’s been expected that the tariffs — particularly those on China — would mean price hikes on the most popular tech products in the US. In some cases it already seemingly has, with Sony appearing to bake the tariffs into the US prices for its newest TVs and OnePlus raising the price of its new smartwatches without saying why.
Other companies have appeared reluctant to rock the boat while they wait for Trump’s chaotic trade war maneuvers to settle down. For instance, Nintendo delayed US preorders for the Switch 2 but has stayed committed to its $449.99 launch price, while Apple reportedly rushed to import 600 tons of iPhones from India before the tariffs went into effect this week.
Update April 12th: Updated with more details about the exclusions, which emerged after publication.