President Trump’s administration has exempted smartphones, computers, and key electronic components from recently imposed tariffs, according to new guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The CBP guidance, released late Friday, follows Trump’s earlier decision to enact 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, which threatened to significantly impact tech companies like Apple, heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing.
The exemptions extend to semiconductors, solar cells, flat-panel TV displays, flash drives, and memory cards, among other electronic components. The White House stated these exemptions aim to provide companies time to relocate production to the United States.
Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said, “The President is prioritizing the onshoring of critical technology manufacturing, including semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops.” He added, “Companies are actively working to move production to the U.S.”
The CBP guidelines indicate that the 20 exempted product categories are excluded from the 125% tariff on Chinese imports and the 10% baseline tariff on imports from other nations. However, a 20% tariff on all other Chinese goods remains in effect. The exemptions are viewed as a positive development for tech companies like Apple, which manufactures a significant portion of its products in China.
