Washington/West Palm Beach: President Donald Trump’s administration has offered major probation to tech companies such as Apple that rely on overseas products, from steep reciprocity tariffs to smartphones, computers and some other electronic products imported from China.
In notices to shippers, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a list of tariff codes that do not include import duties. On April 5, the number of exclusions was 12:01 in ET (GMT 0401).
The US CBP lists 20 product categories, including a wide range of 8471 codes covering all computers, laptops, disk drives and automatic data processing devices. It also includes semiconductor devices, devices, memory chips and flat panel displays.
The notice does not include reasons for the move, but the late-night exemption provides welcome relief to major technology companies such as Apple, Dell Technologies and many other importers.
Trump’s move also exempts designated electronics from his 10% “baseline” tariff on goods in most Chinese countries, reducing import costs for semiconductors from Taiwan and Apple iPhones assembled in India.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives called the news “the most bullish news we may hear this weekend”.
“In these Chinese negotiations, there is still obvious uncertainty and volatility… Big tech companies like Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft and the broader tech industry can be breathtaking this weekend through Monday,” Ives wrote in an industry announcement.
The CEOs of many tech companies accepted Trump when they began their second term, attending his January 20 inauguration in Washington before celebrating with him. Apple CEO Tim Cook hosted the pre-inauguration dance and visited Trump at his Florida residence.
For Chinese imports, a White House official said the exclusion of reciprocity tariffs that only apply to Trump, which rose to 125% this week. His earlier 20% responsibility for all Chinese imports (associated with the U.S. fentanyl crisis) remains.
However, the official said Trump will conduct a new national security trade investigation into semiconductors, which could lead to further tariffs.
White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump has made it clear that the United States cannot rely on China to make key technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops.
She added that under Trump’s guidance, major tech companies – including Apple and chipmaker Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor, “work hard to make onshore manufacturing in the U.S. as soon as possible.”
Tariff Pain
The exemption shows that awareness of the hardships the Trump administration may impose on inflation consumers is growing.
Even with tariffs on Chinese imports reduced by 54%, analysts predict that the price of high-end Apple iPhones could rise from $1,599 to $2,300. Economists, who account for 125%, warn that U.S.-China trade could be in trouble.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, smartphones are the highest imports from China in 2024, totaling $41.7 billion, and Chinese-made laptops shut down $33.1 billion.
Apple reported on Friday that it was delivering cargo flights to 600 tons of iPhones, up to 1.5 million tons of iPhones (from India to the United States), after promoting production there to avoid Trump’s tariffs.
Trump’s campaign to reclaim the White House last year focused primarily on a promise to lower consumer prices, due to increased inflation and damage to the economic legacy of former President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies.
Nevertheless, Trump also vowed to impose tariffs on the core of his economic strategy, thus refuting the turbulence in financial markets and rising from the levy, a necessary underminement to rebalance the global trade order.
However, his so-called “reciprocity tariffs” have sparked fear of recession and have drawn criticism from within his own Republican Party and are somewhat wary of losing control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. Democrats also severely criticized Trump’s approach.
Last week, Trump delayed tariff rates for 57 trading partners and the EU, and most countries maintained their tax rates at a 10% rate as trade negotiations continue with Washington.
The U.S. president spent a weekend at his home in Florida and told reporters on Friday that he felt relaxed about China’s high tariffs but maintained a good relationship with President Xi Jinping. He said optimistically that something positive could happen from the trade deadlock.
Financial markets exploded again, raising responsibilities to 125% after China matched Trump’s latest tariff hike on U.S. goods. Upgrades could wreak havoc on global supply chains.
U.S. stocks ended a turbulent week, but gold soared to record highs during the meeting. Benchmark US 10-year government bond yields recorded its biggest weekly rise since 2001, while the dollar fell sharply – a sign of weaker investor confidence.
