US exempts smartphones, computers and other electronics from Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs

The Trump administration has exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from its “reciprocal” tariffs — lessening the cost impact on American consumers for a host of popular high-tech products.

The exemptions, published late on Friday in a notice by the US Customs and Border Protection office, cover various electronic goods including smartphones and components entering the United States from China, which is currently subject to an additional 145 per cent tariff.

Semiconductors are also excluded from a “baseline” 10 per cent tariff on most US trading partners.

The move comes a day after China’s foreign ministry vowed that Beijing would “fight to the end” against the administration’s tariffs, announcing an increase of Chinese tariffs on US goods to 125 per cent and deepening the schism between the world’s two largest economies.

Meanwhile, the US government also signalled it would stick to its guns on the 145 per cent import tax imposed on Chinese goods, when President Donald Trump posted on social media that America was “doing really well on our tariff policy”.

The stand-off, coupled with baseline tariffs still in place on America’s other trading partners, has prompted another wave of chaos in global markets.

The additional 125 per cent tariff piled atop an earlier 20 per cent levy Mr Trump imposed over China’s alleged role in fentanyl supply chains, and other existing tariffs from previous administrations.

Many of the exempted products, including hard drives and computer processors, are typically not made in the United States.

While Mr Trump has referred to tariffs as a way to bring manufacturing back to the United States, it will likely take years to ramp up domestic manufacturing.

AFP