Computers, chips, smartphones and other electronic goods will be exempt from some reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A CBP notice posted late Friday provided a list of 20 electronic devices and components that will be exempt from import duties — including computers, flat panel monitors, smartphones, laptops, hard drives, memory chips and more.
The notice said the exemption applies to products entering the U.S. or removed from warehouses starting on April 5.
However, the tariff exemptions for electronics could be temporary, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Electronic devices and components could be subject to “semiconductor” tariffs that will likely come in a month or two, Lutnick said.
“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. We need to have semiconductors, we need to have chips, and we need to have flat panels — we need to have these things made in America. We can’t be reliant on Southeast Asia for all of the things that operate for us,” Lutnick told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.
The electronics exemption imposed on Friday could at least temporarily provide some tariff relief for international shippers amid a back-and-forth tariff escalation between the U.S. and China.
The Trump administration launched its broad “reciprocal” tariff plan for about 90 U.S. trade partners April 2, including a baseline 10% tariff on trade partners, as well as 25% tariffs on certain imported vehicles and auto parts.
A few hours after the reciprocal tariffs went into effect, Trump announced he was pausing the higher tariffs but leaving the 10% baseline levies intact for all countries, except for Canada and Mexico.
The CBP exemption announced Friday excludes the electronic devices and components from the 10% baseline tariff, according to the notice.
Trump also raised tariffs on all imports from China to 145% last week. China retaliated early Friday against the increased tariffs by imposing 125% levies on all U.S. goods.
The CBP notice paused the 145% tariffs against China, but import taxes of 20% are still in place, White House officials said.
Trump signed an executive order Feb. 1 putting 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, while Chinese products were slapped with an additional 10% tariff, bringing their import levies to 20%.
“These products are subject to the tariff under the original IEEPA on China of 20 percent,” said a social media post on Saturday by Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy.
