Trump exempts smartphones, computers from reciprocal tariffs

The latest exemptions cover imports from China, in first sign of possible softening of US trade war against Beijing.

Smartphones, laptops and a host of other tech components will be spared from the Trump administration’s so-called “reciprocal tariffs”, including steep 125 percent duties on imports from China, according to a notice issued by US Customs and Border Protection.

The US CBP on Friday listed 20 product categories, including the very broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disc drives and automatic data processing. It also included semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays.

The exclusions provide welcome relief to major US technology firms, including Apple and many other importers which rely on Chinese manufacturing.

There was no immediate comment from the White House on the exemptions.

But the exemptions suggest an increasing awareness within the Trump administration of the pain that his tariffs had in store for US consumers, especially on popular products such as smartphones, laptops and other electronics.

Daniel Ives, senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, called the US exemptions “the best news possible for tech investors.”

“US tariff exclusions will apply to computers, smartphones, and chip-making equipment which takes (away) a huge black cloud overhang for now over the tech sector,” he said in a note cited by the AFP news agency.

Without these exemptions, he said, “the US Tech industry would be taken back a decade and the AI Revolution thesis would have been slowed significantly.”

The move came as retaliatory Chinese import tariffs of 125 percent on US goods took effect on Saturday, with Beijing standing defiant against its primary trade competitor.

Earlier in the week, Trump officials announced a 90-day reprieve on “reciprocal” tariffs for most countries, introducing instead a flat 10 percent rate, though China remained excluded from the revised scheme.