The US government has granted tariff exclusions for smartphones, computers and other electronics imported largely from China, sparing them from President Donald Trump’s steep 125 per cent reciprocal duties.
In a notice to shippers, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency published a list of tariff codes that will be excluded from the duties.
The exclusions are retroactive to 12.01 AM Eastern Time on 5 Apr (12.01 PM Singapore time).
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The CBP listed 20 product categories, including the very broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disk drives and automatic data processing.
It also included semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips, flat panel displays, solar cells and memory cards.
While traveling to Miami, Trump said he would give more details of the exemptions at the start of next week.
“We’ll be very specific,” he told reporters on Air Force One. “But we’re taking in a lot of money. As a country, we’re taking in a lot of money.”
Electronics Exemption Provides Relief to Tech Industry
The late-night exclusion provides welcome relief to major US technology firms, including Apple, Dell Technologies and countless other importers.
The exemption applies only to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods, which climbed to 125 per cent this week, according to a White House official.
Trump’s prior 20 per cent duties on all Chinese imports that he said were related to the US fentanyl crisis remain in place, even for the exempted electronics.
Smartphones were the top US import from China in 2024, totalling US$41.7 billion (S$54.6 billion), while Chinese-built laptop computers were second, at US$33.1 billion (S$43.3 billion), according to US Census Bureau data.
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Without the exemptions, analysts predicted that the price of a top-end Apple iPhone could jump to US$2,300 (S$3,000) from US$1,599 (S$2,090).
At 125 per cent, economists and analysts have said that US-China trade could largely halt.
The US is a major market for iPhones, with Apple accounting for more than half of its smartphone sales last year, according to Counterpoint Research.
As much as 80 per cent of Apple’s iPhones intended for US sale are made in China, with the remaining 20 per cent made in India.
Trump’s Tariff Strategy and Manufacturing Goals
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump has made it clear that the US cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops.
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“At the direction of the president, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible,” Leavitt said.
The White House official also said the President will launch a new national security trade investigation into semiconductors soon that could lead to other new tariffs on the sector.
Trump ran in the election to win back the White House in 2024 largely on a promise to bring down prices that had rocketed due to inflation from the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
However, Trump also promised as a candidate to impose the tariffs that have become a central part of his economic agenda.
The President has dismissed the turbulence in financial markets and expected price increases arising from the levies as a disturbance that was a necessary part of realigning the global economy.
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His so-called “reciprocal tariffs” have raised fears of a US recession and drawn criticism from his fellow Republicans, who do not want to lose control of the US House of Representatives and Senate in 2026’s congressional elections.
Trump paused higher duty rates for 57 trading partners and the EU last week, leaving most countries with a 10 per cent tariff as they seek to negotiate trade deals with Washington.
The 90-day pause will last until July.
This came after China matched Trump’s latest tariff increase on US imports to 125 per cent, raising the stakes in a trade war that threatens to upend global supply chains.
Trump, who spent the weekend at his Florida residence, told reporters on 11 Apr that he was comfortable with the high tariffs on China but had a good relationship with President Xi Jinping.
“And I think something positive is going to come out of that,” he said.
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US stocks ended a volatile week higher, but the haven of gold hit a record high during the session.
Benchmark US 10-year government bond yields posted their biggest weekly increase since 2001 alongside a slump in the dollar, signaling a lack of confidence in the US.
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