The exclusions, published late Friday by US Customs and Border Protection, slim the scope of the levies by excluding the merchandise from Trump’s 125 p.c China tariff and his baseline 10 p.c world tariff on practically all different international locations.
The exclusions apply to smartphones, laptop computer computer systems, onerous drives and pc processors and reminiscence chips in addition to flat-screen shows. Those common shopper electronics gadgets usually aren’t made within the US.
The pause shall be welcome information to shoppers, a few of whom rushed to purchase new iPhones and different gadgets amid fears that the tariffs would ship costs hovering. It’s additionally a giant win for main know-how corporations which have offered huge US spending pledges for Trump in current months. Trump’s tariffs upended world markets, triggered a selloff in shares and ignited a quickly escalating commerce conflict with China.
The transfer is the primary important softening of any variety in Trump’s battle with China. It was backdated to April 5.
The exemptions cowl virtually $390 billion (roughly Rs. 33,57,764 crore) in US imports based mostly on official US 2024 commerce statistics, together with greater than $101 billion (roughly Rs. 86,9,574 crore) from China, in line with information compiled by Gerard DiPippo, affiliate director of the Rand China Research Center.
The largest class associated to China is smartphones. The US imported smartphones valued at greater than $41 billion (roughly Rs. 3,52,995 crore) from China in 2024, or about 9 p.c of complete imports from China. Also coated are computer systems and comparable gadgets, of which the US imported greater than $36 billion (roughly Rs 3,09.947 crore) in 2024.
Altogether the exemptions cowl shopper electronics and semiconductors that accounted for about 22 p.c of US imports from China in 2024, DiPippo stated.
“This is a big gap within the US tariff wall that can spare key companies like Apple and shoppers of laptops and telephones from sticker shock,” he stated. “But many different shopper, intermediate, and capital items from China nonetheless face prohibitively excessive US tariffs. This exemption solely covers one phase of the US financial system.”
Trump on Saturday declined to elaborate on the exemptions however hinted at additional developments on Monday.
“I’ll offer you that reply on Monday. We’ll be very particular on Monday,” he advised reporters on Air Force One. “We’re taking in some huge cash; as a rustic we’re taking in some huge cash.”
The White House additionally launched a corresponding memo indicating that the exemptions additionally prolong to modifications in small-parcel delivery duties. Trump had moved to finish the so-called “de minimis” exemption, starting with China, that usually means parcels value $800 (roughly Rs. 68,880) or beneath do not face duties.
“President Trump has made it clear America can’t depend on China to manufacturing important applied sciences comparable to semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated in a press release. “That’s why the president has secured trillions of {dollars} in US investments from the most important tech corporations on the earth.” She stated these corporations are “hustling to onshore” their manufacturing to the US.
The tariff reprieve could show fleeting. The exclusions stem from the preliminary order, which prevented further tariffs on sure sectors from stacking cumulatively on prime of the country-wide charges. The exclusion is an indication that the merchandise could quickly be topic to a unique tariff, albeit virtually absolutely a decrease one for China.
The merchandise that will not be topic to Trump’s new tariffs embrace machines used to make semiconductors. That can be essential for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which has introduced a serious new funding within the US, in addition to different chipmakers.
“All merchandise which might be correctly categorized in these listed provisions shall be excluded from the reciprocal tariffs,” the discover stated.
The transfer appeared to exclude the merchandise from the ten p.c world baseline tariff on different international locations, together with Samsung Electronics’ dwelling of South Korea.
The tariff reprieve doesn’t prolong to a separate Trump levy on China — a 20 p.c obligation utilized to stress Beijing to crack down on fentanyl, together with the cargo of precursor supplies. Other beforehand present levies, together with people who predate Trump’s present time period, additionally seem unaffected.
“The US tech trade has a loud voice and regardless of preliminary robust pushback in opposition to exemptions throughout the White House the truth of the scenario was lastly recognised within the Beltway,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives stated in a analysis be aware on Saturday. “There remains to be clear uncertainty and volatility forward with these China negotiations.”
The unique listing of tariff exemptions included some semiconductor merchandise — together with central processing models referred to as CPUs. But these measures didn’t carve out tech merchandise essential to AI growth together with graphics processing models, or GPUs, and the servers that they energy. Servers powered by AI chips from corporations comparable to Nvidia and their important elements are primarily manufactured and assembled in Taiwan and Mexico.
Friday’s announcement would cowl each Taiwanese and Mexican manufacturing, in a big reprieve for corporations searching for to construct AI infrastructure within the US.
Semiconductor Equipment Exemptions
Also essential are new exemptions on semiconductor manufacturing tools, made by corporations comparable to ASML Holding NV within the Netherlands and Tokyo Electron Ltd. in Japan. Those instruments are important for constructing chip factories, and comprise the lion’s share of the multibillion greenback price ticket for such crops. Companies together with TSMC, Samsung, and Intel Corp. are constructing new US amenities with assist from the 2022 Chips and Science Act.
Trump’s preliminary “reciprocal” tariff announcement included exemptions for semiconductors and different sectors, to which Trump has often pledged to use a particular tariff. He hasn’t but finished so however the newest exclusions are associated to that exemption.
The transfer excludes most of Apple’s core merchandise from the escalating tariffs on China, together with iPhones, iPads and Apple watches. Apple shares have slid since Trump introduced the tariffs.
Discussions gained further urgency in current days after Trump elevated the tariffs on China, placing corporations like Apple in a harder place than rivals like Samsung, who’re much less reliant on China. Companies and tech trade lobbyists have additionally argued that reshoring the ultimate meeting of smartphones and different merchandise is inconceivable, one individual acquainted with the discussions stated.
But the transfer is also aimed toward laying the groundwork for brand new focused sectoral tariffs which might be prone to hit the trade.
The administration is anticipated to quickly launch a brand new investigation into imports of semiconductors. That would ultimately result in the imposition of tariffs on chips inside weeks or months. Those duties, like ones imposed not too long ago on metal and aluminum, are prone to impose duties on merchandise that embrace semiconductors in addition to the chips themselves.
Trump’s sectoral tariffs have up to now been set at 25 p.c, although it isn’t clear what his charge on semiconductors and associated merchandise can be. It’s additionally not clear how broadly he would apply that tariff.
Representatives from Nvidia and ASML declined to remark. Spokesmen for Tokyo Electron did not instantly reply to a request for remark. The US International Trade Commission declined to touch upon the exemptions, whereas the US Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce did not reply to requests for remark.
© 2025 Bloomberg LP
(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
