President Donald Trump has announced exemptions from tariffs for a range of technology products, including smartphones, laptops, chips, and other electronics.
President Donald Trump has announced exemptions from tariffs for a range of technology products, including smartphones, laptops, chips, and other electronics, easing pressure on tech companies that rely heavily on Chinese manufacturing. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that items like semiconductors, solar cells, memory cards, modems, and flat panel displays will not be subject to the new reciprocal tariffs. The exemptions, backdated to April 5, apply to products that had already shipped before the announcement.
The policy shift follows the Trump administration’s earlier decision to impose 145% tariffs on Chinese imports and a baseline 10% tariff on goods from most other countries. Trump later introduced a 90-day pause for non-retaliating countries, but China remained subject to the full rate due to its own 84% tariffs on U.S. goods. The White House stated the exemptions were intended to give companies more time to move production to the United States. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that the country cannot depend on China to manufacture key technologies, and Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said firms are now “hustling” to onshore production.
Tech executives and investors had warned the tariffs could cause significant price increases for consumer electronics, with some estimates suggesting U.S. iPhone prices could have tripled. Apple, which manufactures around 80% of iPads and more than half of its Mac computers in China, has reportedly been accelerating its shift to India and Vietnam for production. The U.S. is a major market for Apple, which accounted for more than half of U.S. smartphone sales last year.
Financial markets responded quickly to the exemptions. The S&P 500 surged more than 10% following the announcement of the 90-day pause, while Bitcoin climbed past $85,000. Analysts noted that crypto markets, often correlated with tech stocks, were boosted by renewed investor confidence. Macroeconomic trader Raoul Pal described the tariffs as a negotiation tactic, and Max Keiser argued that exempting certain goods would not stop bond yields from rising.
Despite the policy change, a 20% tariff related to Chinese fentanyl-linked products still applies to the exempted items. Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, confirmed this on social media. Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a local high of 4.5% on April 11, reflecting investor uncertainty over the broader trade strategy.
Trump, speaking to reporters while traveling to Florida, said the administration would provide more specific details soon. He maintained support for the tariffs overall, describing the revenue generated as beneficial for the U.S. economy and expressing optimism about ongoing trade talks with China.
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