The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on April 11 that smartphones and computers will be excluded from U.S. President Donald Trump’s new 125% reciprocal tariffs on Chinese imports, easing fears of surging tech prices.
The decision came as a relief for both consumers and companies, particularly tech giants like South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, Apple, and TSMC. There had been concerns that iPhone prices could more than double, as over 90% of production takes place in China. U.S. media reported that the exemption brought “huge relief” to consumers who had been bracing for steep price hikes. Bloomberg noted the measure would benefit major tech firms, including Samsung.
In guidance issued later that day, CBP said that routers, certain laptops and desktops, smartphones, hard drives, memory chips, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment would be exempt from the new tariffs imposed on April 10. As a result, companies such as Apple, Dell, and HP—which rely heavily on Chinese manufacturing—are expected to continue operations without disruption. Samsung, which produces components like memory chips in China, is also seen as a beneficiary of the move.
However, it remains unclear whether the exemption also applies to the existing 20% tariffs on Chinese-made fentanyl precursors, which were imposed earlier during Trump’s presidency. The Financial Times noted lingering uncertainties, while both the White House and the U.S. International Trade Commission declined to comment.
Following the announcement of the new tariffs, Apple reportedly chartered private planes to quickly ship key products from China and India to the U.S. in an effort to avoid delays. Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Florida on April 11, Trump said, “I’ve always gotten along well with President Xi,” and expressed optimism about future negotiations with China, saying, “Something positive is going to come.”
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News that China’s retaliatory tariffs were “not terribly surprising, but certainly unfortunate.” He added, “My sense is that the Chinese are pragmatic. They understand power and realpolitik on the international stage... so we can move the ball forward.”
Still, the Trump administration signaled a tough stance on reducing reliance on China for critical technologies. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in an April 12 statement that the United States cannot rely on China to produce key technologies like semiconductors, smartphones, and laptops, adding that the results of an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act would be announced soon. Section 232 allows the U.S. president to impose emergency trade measures if certain imports are deemed a threat to national security. Trump previously used the provision to place tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles, and has said similar measures could apply to semiconductors.
