1 week Ago
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that the Trump administration’s tariff exemption on electronics — including smartphones and semiconductors — is only temporary, suggesting that new sector-specific tariffs could be on the horizon, CNN reported. Appearing on ‘ABC This Week’, Lutnick reportedly said the exemption does not represent a long-term shift. “These are included in the semiconductor tariffs that are coming, and the pharmaceuticals are coming.
Those two areas are coming in the next month or two. So, this is not like a permanent sort of exemption,” he said, according to CNN. The potential tariffs, aimed at encouraging the reshoring of critical industries, will affect specific sectors tied to national security and “will not be available for negotiation”, the report said.
“Semiconductors and pharmaceuticals will have a tariff model in order to encourage them to reshore,” Lutnick reportedly said, adding, “We need our medicines, and we need semiconductors and our electronics to be built in America. We can’t be beholden and rely upon foreign countries for fundamental things that we need.” The move comes amid heightened concerns over U.
S. dependence on foreign supply chains, particularly in areas deemed vital for national security and economic stability. Despite no direct engagement with Chinese officials, Lutnick told ‘ABC This Week’ that he is optimistic that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will eventually reach an agreement to ease trade tensions, saying they will “work this out” and that Trump will secure a good result for the US.
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