The Trump administration is exempting imported smartphones, laptops and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs.
Customs and Border Patrol issued new guidance on reciprocal tariff negotiations late Friday, noting the exemption of those goods from Trump’s April 2 executive order which declared a national emergency due to non-reciprocal trade practices and structural imbalances in the global trading system. Subsequent executive orders ramped-up tariffs on China to 125%.
The updated guidance, which cites a presidential memorandum issued Friday, excluded the products from Trump’s 125% China tariff and his baseline 10% global tariff on some countries. They apply to goods that left a warehouse as of April 5.
‘DEAL-MAKER-IN-CHIEF’: BEHIND THE SCENES OF TRUMP’S TARIFF PAUSE, WHERE HE HAS FINAL SAY OVER NEGOTIATIONS
The new move will likely ease the blow for consumers while giving a boost to electronics giants such as Apple, Samsung and Dell.
A White House official confirmed to Fox News that the exemptions were put in place.
Among the other electric goods being exempted are hard drives, computer processors, solar cells, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, flat panel TV displays and memory chips. Those popular consumer electronics items generally aren’t made in the U.S. and setting up domestic manufacturing would take years, according to Bloomberg.
“President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News. “That’s why the President has secured trillions of dollars in U.S. investments from the largest tech companies in the world, including Apple, TSMC, and Nvidia. At the direction of the President, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.”
China accounts for nearly 25% of all electronic goods imported into the U.S., according to the U.S. Internation Trade Commission.
CHINA REFUSES TO BACK DOWN ON TARIFFS AFTER TRUMP THREATENED TOUGHER MEASURES
On Wednesday, Trump put a 90-day pause on reciprocal, customized tariffs he had imposed on dozens of nations, which was an abrupt change of course after saying there would not be a pause to them, just negotiations.
Simultaneously, the Trump administration upped the ante on its tariff on China to 125%. That led to China to hike tariffs on American imports from 84% to 125% amid the ongoing trade war between the two superpowers.
A Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that the pause came about after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick encouraged Trump to put those tariffs on ice after receiving an outpouring of good-faith commitments from trading partners to renegotiate the deals in ways that were favorable to the U.S.
Trump agreed, with the admin official underscoring that while the administration was “obviously” watching the volatile market on Wednesday morning, Trump’s top priority is how to “best address our national emergency of trade deficits.”
He said the 90-day pause would allow countries to reach bilateral deals with the U.S. and administration officials say the president is aiming to make 90 deals with nations in 90 days.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report
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