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SEOUL, April 13 (AJP) - The Trump administration has granted exemptions on a range of electronic devices, including smartphones and personal computers, from a broad package of reciprocal tariffs — a move that offers significant relief to major global tech firms such as Apple and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics.
In a notice published April 12, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that select categories of electronics — including smartphones, laptops, PCs, servers, and semiconductor equipment — would be excluded from the reciprocal tariffs, which include levies of up to 125 percent on goods imported from China. The exemptions are retroactive to April 5.
The decision is expected to ease mounting concerns across the technology industry about the potential for rising consumer prices, given the heavy reliance on Chinese manufacturing for many of the affected products.
While President Trump had previously threatened to impose steep tariffs on a wide array of imports, he announced a 90-day suspension of that plan last week. In the interim, the United States has introduced a general global tariff of 10 percent.
However, for imports from China, only the newly implemented 125 percent tariffs are affected by the exemption. A separate 20 percent tariff, tied to what the administration has described as China’s role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis, will remain in place.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president remains committed to reducing America’s dependence on Chinese manufacturing, particularly for critical technologies.
“President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies, such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops,” Leavitt said, adding that major tech companies are “hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.”
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that further details on his administration’s strategy for semiconductor tariffs would be announced Monday.
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