President Donald Trump’s administration has exempted smartphones, computers and other electronic devices from reciprocal tariffs, including the 125 per cent levies imposed on imports from China, according to an announcement from US Customs and Border Protection late Friday.
The exemptions apply to smartphones, laptop computers, hard drives, computer processors, memory chips and flat-screen displays. Other exempt products include machines for data transmission such as routers, computer monitors, semiconductor devices and flash drives.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacturing critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops. That’s why the president has secured trillions of dollars in US investments from the largest tech companies in the world.”
The exemptions represent a significant reprieve for technology giants like Apple and Nvidia, with Apple producing approximately 80 per cent of its iPhones for US sale in China, according to Counterpoint Research.
“This is the dream scenario for tech investors,” Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, told CNBC. “Smartphones, chips being excluded is a game-changer scenario when it comes to China tariffs.”
The exclusions, backdated to 5 April, exempt these goods from both Trump’s 125 per cent tariff on China and his baseline 10 per cent global tariff on most other countries.
The exemptions cover electronics imports worth approximately $390 billion based on 2024 US trade statistics, including more than $101 billion from China, according to data compiled by Gerard DiPippo, associate director of the Rand China Research Center.
Despite this reprieve, the excluded products may face different tariffs in the future. The White House indicated that the exemptions were made to ensure companies have more time to move production to the US, with Leavitt stating these companies are “hustling to onshore their manufacturing to the United States as soon as possible.”
When asked about the exemptions on Saturday, Trump told reporters: “I’ll give you that answer on Monday. We’ll be very specific on Monday. We’re taking in a lot of money; as a country we’re taking in a lot of money.”
