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The latest order is a "clarification of exceptions" to Trump's earlier order on April 2, regarding tariffed goods imported to the United States from China. That order raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 125 percent. Those tariffs of 125 percent remain in place, but reduce the tariff on a broad swath of the PC industry, plus smartphones.
Essentially, it provides relief for PC and component buyers, which has already been plagued by high prices on computers and components.
Specifically, the order excepts several classifications of products found on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which in turn provides an esoteric textual description pf products imported to the U.S. "In Executive Order 14257, I stated that certain goods are not subject to the ad valorem rates of duty under that order," Trump's order states. "One of those excepted products is ‘semiconductors.'"
In a post on the Truth Social web site on Sunday afternoon, Trump denied that the technology industry was receiving a wholesale exemption. "There was no Tariff ‘exception' announced on Friday," Trump wrote. "These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.'"
Trump said that the government would be "taking a l
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US Customs and Border Protection on Friday night published a list of products excluded from Trump's reciprocal tariffs, including smartphones, computers and memory chips, along with other electronic devices and components. But in an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl on Sunday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the move doesn't mean these products will be exempt from tariffs altogether — they're just getting their own category. "Those products are going to be part of the semiconductor sectoral tariffs, which are coming," Lutnick said.
It all comes shortly after Trump imposed a 125 percent tariff on goods from China, which the administration confirmed to CNBC and other outlets is in addition to the 20 percent tariff put in place earlier this year, bringing it to a total of 145 percent. Trump had previously announced higher reciprocal tariffs for other countries, too, but walked this back with a 90-day "pause" earlier this week. The pause does not apply to China, though, and there's still a 10 percent tariff on imports from almost all countries. Electronics imports in particular are expected to be hit hard by the new rules, an
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