The Trump administration is carving out a major tariff exemption for the tech industry.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would delay many of the market-shaking tariffs that he announced the previous week, but he maintained a universal baseline of 10% and raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 125% (in addition to the 20% tariffs already imposed on goods from China).
There has been a lot of speculation about what tariffs mean for the high-tech industry, which manufactures many home appliances in China and overseas. One of Trump’s goals is to bring manufacturing back to the US, but he believes that Americans’ iPhone dreams are fantasy.
These debates could be suspended Friday evening when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted a list of product categories excluded from mutual tariffs imposed under Executive Order 14257 and are excluded until April 5th.
These categories appear to include smartphones, laptops, hard drives and semiconductors. All of these products are exempt from both a 125% tariff on products from China and a universal baseline fee. (Other duties such as the previous 20% tariffs on Chinese products will probably still apply.)
While prominent Silicon Valley figures led by Elon Musk have joined the Trump administration, other tech CEOs have courted Trump, with millions of dollars most visible donated to his inauguration. These efforts seemed almost unbearable until last night’s announcement. Daniel Ives is the global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, known as the “Dream Scenario of High-Tech Investors.”
Tech giants like Apple and Nvidia may be celebrating the news, just like US consumers who avoid big markup on their next iPhone. However, the industry could still be hit by more targeted tariffs and other restrictions. For example, the New York Times reports that the Trump administration is preparing a national security-related investigation into semiconductors.
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