According to a statement released by US Customs and Border Protection, President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will not apply to electronic goods brought into the US.
The exception affects items coming into the US or being taken out of warehouses as early as April 5 and covers smartphones, computer monitors, and other electronic components.
This follows the Trump administration’s imposition of a minimum tariff rate of 145% on Chinese imports into the United States, which excludes the 20% duty on Chinese goods due to the nation’s involvement in the fentanyl trade.
Tech companies like Apple, which manufacture iPhones and other items in China, would be greatly impacted by the tariff exemption.
According to Wedbush Securities, roughly 90% of Apple’s iPhone assembly and manufacturing is done in China.
“Big Tech firms like Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and the broader tech industry can breathe a huge sigh of relief this weekend into Monday,” Wedbush said in a statement. “A big step forward for US tech to get these exemptions and the most bullish news we could have heard this weekend…now onto the next step in negotiations on the broader China tariff war which will take a number of months at least.”
According to Counterpoint Research, Apple maintains up to six weeks’ worth of inventory in the US; if that supply runs out, prices are likely to increase, CNN revealed.
The White House claims that Trump will keep pushing tech companies to relocate their operations to the US since America cannot depend on China to produce vital technologies like chips, semiconductors, laptops, and smartphones.
Economists have cautioned that many Americans may rush to purchase expensive goods like gadgets and cars as a result of tariffs, as their prices may eventually be paid by the consumer.
Due to their lower costs, Asian companies are commonly used to outsource products like semiconductors and microchips. The announcement from Friday states that such electronic components are now exempt. Asian chipmakers like SK Hynix, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) may benefit from that.
The Trump administration asserts that these tariffs would reverse a decades-long slide in manufacturing jobs in the United States.
