The Trump adminâs public tariff plan continues to evolve
Image: Wikimedia
This weekend, the Trump administration officially exempted smartphones, laptops, and other electronic products from the Presidentâs latest reciprocal tariffsâbut also signaled that those products will soon be subject to new tariffs targeting the global semiconductor industry.
Catch up quick
On Friday evening, the US Customs and Border Protection issued a rule exempting smartphones, laptops, memory chips, and other electronic products from President Trumpâs recently enacted reciprocal tariffs, in a statement without any further explanation.
- The move has the biggest immediate impact on tech imports from China, because of the heights to which US tariff rates have risen in recent days (currently 145%).
- The exempted productsâincluding those from Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Samsung, Dell, and other tech giantsâcover ~$390 billion in US imports last year, including $100+ billion from China (roughly a quarter of all Chinese imports).
- âThis is a small step by the US toward correcting its wrongful action of unilateral âreciprocal tariffs,ââ Chinaâs Ministry of Commerce said in a statement in response to Fridayâs pause.
It appears temporary: On Sunday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnickâand later President Trump himselfârevealed the electronic products that were exempted on Friday will all face separate tariffs in a month or two, following a federal trade investigation into the global semiconductor industry. "All those products are going to come under semiconductors, and they're going to have a special focus-type of tariff to make sure that those products get reshored,â Lutnick said.
Looking aheadâŚTrump is expected to issue a national security study on semiconductor trade in the coming days or weeks, a move that historically has resulted in new tariffs. Top Trump officials also indicated that pharmaceutical products will soon receive their own separate tariff rate, similar to semiconductors.
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Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue the fact that itâs easier for other countries to sell things in the US than it is for US companies to sell their goods in overseas markets doesnât call for Trump to massively overhaul a world trade system that, in its previous form, very much benefitted the US.
- Others contend that Trumpâs tariffs demonstrate a disregard for the details or the collateral damage, and his new plan to pause some reciprocal tariffs isnât much better than his original idea.
- âWhat America stands to lose in the trade warsâ âWashington Post Editorial Board
- âTrumpâs Tariff Pause Is Less Than Meets the Eyeâ âNY Times Editorial Board
- âBy Plan or Luck, Trump Landed His First Blow on Chinaâ âHal Brands, Bloomberg
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that the temporary tariff exemptions announced this past weekend expose the political nature of tariffs, where some industries benefit but others donâtâespecially when tariffs are seemingly arbitrarily imposed.
- Others contend that Trumpâs recent tariff moves represent good news for working-class Americans, since the Republican-led effort to restore American manufacturing and enhance our national security is only getting started.
- âTrumpâs Exceptional Tariff Weekendâ âWSJ Editorial Board
- âTrump's tariff triumph big step for America's comebackâ âDavid Marcus, Fox News
- âTrumpâs big move: It wasnât bungling. It wasnât 4D chess. It was being flexible enough to get what he wantedâ âByron York, Washington Examiner
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