Excluded smartphones, computers and other electronics from ‘reciprocal’ dutiesthe government of the US president Donald Trumprelieving global technology giants, such as Apple and Nvidia.
The exceptions, published late Friday (11.4.2025) by the US Customs and Border Protection Service, limit the scope of contributions, excluding products from the duty of 125% of Trump in China and the basic worldwide duty of 10% of Trump in almost all other countries.
In particular, Excepts apply to smartphones, laptops, hard drives, processors and computer cakes, as well as flat screens. These popular consumer electronics are not manufactured in the US, according to Bloomberg.
The pause will be a pleasant news for consumers, some of whom have rushed to buy new iPhones and other devices amid fears that duties would boost prices. It is also an important victory for large technology companies that have made huge US spending commitments in recent months.
Trump’s duties upset global markets, caused a sale of shares and triggered a rapidly escalating trade war with China. Product exception is the first significant alleviation of any kind in Trump’s conflict with China.
It is noted that Exceptions cover almost $ 390 billion imports in the US Based on US official commercial statistics for 2024, including more than $ 101 billion from Chinaaccording to data gathered by Gerard Dipipipo, Deputy Director of Rand China Research Center.
The most important category of exceptions is smartphones. The US introduced smartphones worth more than $ 41 billion from China in 2024, which corresponds to 9% of total imports from China.
Then follow the computers and similar devices, from which The US introduced more than $ 36 billion in 2024.
Overall, Exceptions cover wide consumption electronics and semiconductors corresponding to about 22% of US imports from China in 2024said Dipipo.
“This is a large hole in the US duty wall, which will rid basic businesses, such as Apple, and consumers of laptops and phones from the shock of price,” he said, adding: “But many other consumer, intermediate and capital goods from China. This exception only covers part of the American economyยป.
On Saturday (12.4.2025), Trump refused to clarify the exceptions, but implied that There will be further developments on Monday (14.4.2025). “We will be very specific on Monday,” the US president told reporters at the Air Force One.
‘President Trump has made it clear that America cannot be based on China to build critical technologies Like semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops, “White White House spokesman Carolin Levit said in a statement, adding: “That is why the president secured trillion dollars in the US from the world’s largest technology companies.”. She said that These companies are “rushing to carry” their production to the US.
Products that will not be subject to Trump’s new duties include machines used for the manufacture of semiconductors. This is important for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which has announced a major new investment in the US, as well as other chip manufacturers.
“All products that are rightly classified into these listed provisions will be excluded from mutual duties,” the statement said. This move seemed to exclude products from the world’s basic 10% duty for other countriesincluding the country of origin of Samsung, South Korea.
The original list of tariff exceptions included certain semiconductor products, including central processing units known as CPU. However, these measures did not contain technological products of vital importance for the development of artificial intelligence, including graphics or GPU processing units and supplying servers. Servers powered by chips from companies such as Nvidia, and their critical components are manufactured and assembled mainly in Taiwan and Mexico.
Friday’s announcement will cover both Taiwan and Mexico’s production, Giving a breath to companies seeking to create AI infrastructure in the US.
Exceptions for semiconductor equipment
Also of crucial importance are the new exceptions for semiconductor equipment made by companies such as ASML Holding in the Netherlands and Tokyo Electron in Japan. These tools are essential for the manufacture of chip factory And they are the lion’s share of the price of many billions of dollars for such factories. Companies such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel are manufacturing new US facilities with the support of the 2022 Chips and Science Act.
This move excludes most of Apple’s basic products from escalating tariffs in China, including iPhones, iPads and Apple watches. Since Trump announced the duties, Apple’s shares have been slipping.
The discussions were urgent after increasing the duties imposed by Trump on China, putting companies like Apple in a more difficult position than competitors, which depend less on China, such as Samsung.
However, this move is also aimed at laying the bases for New targeted sectoral invoices that are likely to hit the industry.
Government is expected to start soon New semiconductor import research, which will lead to duties on chips within weeks or months. These duties are likely to be imposed on products that include semiconductors as well as the chips themselves.