6 days Ago
US President Donald Trump's administration has granted tariff exclusions for smartphones, computers and other electronics imports supplied largely by China, sparing them from much of his 145 per cent duties. Login or signup to continue reading In a notice to shippers , the US Customs and Border Protection agency published a list of tariff codes that will be excluded from the duties. The exclusions are retroactive to 12.
01am on April 5. The US CBP listed 20 product categories, including the very broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disc drives and automatic data processing. It also included semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays.
This means they will not be subject to the current 145 per cent tariffs levied on China or the 10 per cent baseline tariffs elsewhere. The notice did not provide an explanation for the administration's move but the late-night exclusion provides welcome relief to major US technology firms including Apple, Dell Technologies and countless other importers. White House officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment on why the latest tariff exemptions had been made.
But the exemptions suggest an increasing awareness within the US administration of the pain that his tariffs had in store for consumers, especially on popular products such as smartphones, laptops and other electronics. Trump ran for re-election last year largely on a promise to bring down prices that had rocketed and tarnished the economic reputation of US president Joe Biden and his Democratic allies. But Trump also promised as a candidate to impose the tariffs that have become a central part of his economic agenda, and the president has dismissed the turbulence in financial markets and expected price increases arising from the levies as a disturbance that was a necessary part of realigning the global economy and world trading order with his vision.
His so-called "reciprocal tariffs," however, raised fears of a US recession and drew criticism from his fellow Republicans, who do not want to lose control of the US House of Representatives and Senate in next year's midterm elections to Democrats, who have sharply criticised Trump's policies. Trump, who is spending the weekend at his residence in Florida, told reporters on Friday he was comfortable with the high tariffs on China but respected President Xi Jinping and believed something good would come out of the trade conflict between them. While Trump paused most country-specific tariffs for 90 days following a plunge in global stock markets earlier this week, a 145 per cent levy remains in place for Chinese imports.
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