On U.S. Liberation Day 2025, President Donald Trump announced the latest tariff policy, which created a buzz all around the world. A universal 10% baseline tariff now applies to all imports, but Chinese goods were hit the hardest. Now, the US President’s administration has taken a significant turn by exempting the tax on smartphones, computers and other electronic devices, including the 125% levies imposed on Chinese imports.
In a notice, US Customs and Border Patrol said these electronic devices would be excluded from Trump’s 10% global tariff on most countries and the much larger Chinese import tax.
Yesterday, Donald Trump also revealed that he would give more details about these exemptions at the start of next week.
Trump Excludes Smartphones and Computers from Latest Tariff List – A Strategic Economic Shift?
“We’ll be very specific,” he said. “But we’re taking in a lot of money. As a country, we’re taking in a lot of money.”
After the announcement of the reciprocal tariffs, the US government faced huge criticism because many considered it unfair. The 10% global tariff would put pressure on the end users as it would increase the price of the products.
Many US tech companies showed concerns that the price of gadgets could skyrocket, as many of them are made in China.
If we take the example of the iPhone, the US is a major market for iPhones, while Apple accounted for more than half of its smartphones sales last year, according to Counterpoint Research.
It says as much as 80% of Apple’s iPhones intended for US sale are made in China, with the remaining 20% made in India.
After the announcement of the tariffs, Apple reportedly sped up and increased its production of India-produced devices. Other tech giants like Samsung have also been trying to diversify their supply chains to avoid an over-reliance on China in recent years.
These decisions have also provided benefits to other countries like India and Vietnam. As both these countries are becoming the manufacturing hubs.
However, now, after the exemptions, the situation is different. Many big tech firms such as Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and the broader tech industry can breathe a huge sigh of relief after the exemptions.
Moreover, the US president has also announced the implementation of a 90-day pause for countries hit by higher US tariffs – except China, whose tariffs he raised to 145%.
In a major shift in policy, Trump announced that countries which had not retaliated against U.S. tariffs would be granted a temporary exemption, facing only a flat 10% tariff until July.
The White House later clarified that this move was a strategic negotiation tactic aimed at securing better trade deals with those nations.
Trump has argued that these import tariffs are meant to correct imbalances in the global trade system and help bring jobs and manufacturing back to the United States.
The coming days are so important. The US president will announce more details about the exemptions in the coming week. We will get a clearer idea about the tariffs now. Until now, do tell us in the comment section what you think about these tariffs.
