US excludes smartphones and computers from global Trump-era tariffs

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from punitive “reciprocal” tariffs — reducing the cost impact on American consumers for a host of popular high-tech products.

The exemption, published late Friday in a notice from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office, covers a variety of electronic goods, including smartphones and parts, entering the United States from China, which is currently subject to a staggering additional 145 percent tariff.

Semiconductors are also exempt from the “baseline” 10 percent tariff on most U.S. trading partners and the additional 125 percent tariff on China.

The exemption lowers the threshold for the 10 percent levies announced by President Donald Trump earlier this month, and punitive additional rates on goods from China.

Trump has targeted China in particular with his “reciprocal tariffs” aimed at addressing Washington’s perceived unfair practices, most recently introducing a new 125 percent tariff on goods from the world’s second-largest economy that took effect this week.

That rate was on top of China’s alleged role in fentanyl supply chains and a 20 percent levy imposed on existing tariffs by the previous administration, which brought the total figure to at least 145 percent for many products.

Many of the exempted products, including hard drives and computer processors, are not typically made in the United States.

While Trump has touted the tariffs as a way to bring manufacturing back to the United States, it will take years to ramp up domestic manufacturing.