21 hours Ago By Simon Sharwood
US President Donald Trump has imposed a ten percent tariff on nearly all types of imports into America, and higher levies on goods from major producers of digital tech, such as China, South Korea, and Taiwan. At an event he named “Liberation Day” Wednesday, Trump declared a national emergency on grounds that the practices of America’s trading partners “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.” The sole example of technology industry practices cited in the Trump administration’s fact sheet and executive order is India charging a ten percent duty on imported American switches and routers, while the USA charges no duty on such networking devices entering its land.
The ten percent blanket tariff comes into force on April 5. Four days later, the US will impose “reciprocal tariffs” – levies imposed in response to other countries’ import duties – on many nations. These retaliatory tariffs, outlined in a list published on the White House’s X account, target several countries known to host significant tech manufacturing industries.
Among major hardware-producing nations, Thailand and Malaysia were hit with the highest import tariffs - 36 percent - ahead of China at an additional 34 percent and Taiwan at 32 percent. Indian imports will cost 26 percent more once they reach the USA, a blow to its ambition to become a global tech manufacturing player. Another aspiring tech player, Vietnam, faces 46 percent tariffs.
Taiwanese imports will cost 25 percent more by the time it reaches US buyers, as will kit from South Korea. Japan and Thailand each face 24 percent tariffs. Even Israel, one of the USA’s staunchest allies, was hit with a 17 percent tariff.
Everything imported from the European Union will be subject to a 20 percent tariff. It’s hard to imagine these tariffs won’t result in price rises for folks and businesses in America; the import levies are set to be passed onto buyers in the States. If you are in the US, expect to pay more for foreign-built parts and stuff.
Intel, Apple, and Samsung manufacture in Vietnam. Many hard disk drives are made in Thailand. Dell makes laptops in Malaysia.
iPhones are now made in India as well as China. The tariffs on Taiwan may not hurt as much as others because the material published by the administration says semiconductors will be exempt from reciprocal tariffs. However, President Trump has previously warned of 100 percent tariffs on imported chips.
This is a developing story as the administration is yet to publish detailed documentation of its tariff plans, so we can't assess what tariff would apply to a device that includes components made in Taiwan and Vietnam, before being partly assembled in South Korea and completed in the USA. The Register will update this story if more useful material becomes available. ® At time of writing, in after-hours trading already: Apple shares down 11 percent, Amazon down 6, Meta down 5, Nvidia down 5, Microsoft down 3, Alphabet down 4, Cisco down 3, IBM down 2, HPE down 4, HP Inc down 5, Intel down 4, AMD down 5, Arm down 5, Qualcomm down 3, TSMC down 5, Dell down 6.
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