Trump promises tariffs on phones, electronics - Washington targets Chinese technology with new trade measures
The exemption of smartphones, laptops and other electronics from import tariffs on China will be short-lived, senior US officials said, with President Donald Trump warning that “nobody would escape the tariffs.” “These products are subject to the existing 20% tariff on fentanyl, and they are simply being moved to another ‘framework’ of tariffs.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump promised to launch a national security trade investigation into the semiconductor sector and “the entire electronics supply chain.” “We will not be held hostage by other countries, especially hostile trading nations like China,” he added.
The White House announced on Friday that it would exempt some electronics products from high reciprocal tariffs on China. U.S. stock markets rebounded after the announcement. Shares of Apple and chipmaker Nvidia began to rise after tariffs on their products imported into the U.S. were lifted for 90 days.
China's commerce ministry said the exemption showed the US was taking "a small step towards correcting its wrong unilateral practice of 'reciprocal tariffs'", and insisted that Washington cancel the entire tariff regime.
However, Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said that critical technology products from China will face separate new duties, along with semiconductors, within the next two months.
Lutnick said Trump will approve "a specifically targeted tariff" on smartphones, computers and other electronics within a month or two, along with sectoral tariffs targeting semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The new duties would sit outside Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs on China, he said.
The world's two largest economies have been embroiled in a political tug-of-war since Trump launched a global tariff offensive, targeting Chinese imports in particular. Chinese leader Xi Jinping said protectionism "goes nowhere" and that a trade war would have "no winners."
The tariff “swaps” have seen US tariffs on China rise to 145%, with Beijing imposing a retaliatory 125% tax on US imports. On Friday, Beijing said it would ignore any future tariff increases by Trump, as they were already so high that there would be “no market for US goods” in China.
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