Trump administration says it will exclude some electronics from reciprocal tariffs


Trump administration says it will exclude some electronics from reciprocal tariffs

By MAE ANDERSON and MICHAEL LIEDTKE Updated 10:05 AM EDT, April 13, 2025 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Trump administration late Friday said it would exclude electronics like smartphones and laptops from reciprocal tariffs, a move that could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics that aren’t usually made in the U.S. It would also benefit big tech companies like Apple and Samsung and chip makers like Nvidia, setting the stage for a likely tech stock rally on Monday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said items like smartphones, laptops, hard drives, flat-panel monitors and some chips would qualify for the exemption. Machines used to make semiconductors are excluded too. That means they won’t be subject to the current 145% tariffs levied on China or the 10% baseline tariffs elsewhere. It’s the latest tariff change by the Trump administration, which has made several U-turns in their massive plan to put tariffs in place on goods from most countries. On Air Force One Saturday night, President Donald Trump told reporters he would get into more specifics on exemptions on Monday. “We’ve been making a lot of money,” he said. “It’s been the other way around. Other countries, in particular China was making a lot of money.” It is not clear how long the exemption will last or if separate tariffs will be negotiated on the various products. The exemption filed Friday night seemed to reflect the president’s realization that his China tariffs are unlikely to shift more manufacturing of smartphones, computers and other gadgets to the U.S. any time soon, if ever, despite the administration’s predictions that the trade war prod Apple to make iPhones in the U.S. for the first time. But that was an unlikely scenario after Apple spent decades building up a finely calibrated supply chain in China. What’s more, It would take several years and cost billions of dollars to build new plants in the U.S., and then confront Apple with economic forces that could triple the price of an iPhone, threatening to torpedo sales of its marquee product.