The US President Donald Trump-led administration has exempted smartphones, computers, and other electronics from its punishing “reciprocal” tariffs. The recent development would reduce the cost impact on the American consumers for a host of popular high-tech products. While the general public will be benefitting from the decision of Trump, the move would also be welcomed by top electronics giants, including Apple and Samsung, who were staring at a potential increase in their costs to access the US market.
According to news agency AFP, the exemptions, published late Friday in a notice by the US Customs and Border Protection office, cover various electronic goods, including smartphones and components entering the United States from China, which are currently subject to a staggering additional 145 percent tariff.
The exclusion is being seen as a symbol that the products included may soon be subject to a different tariff. However, the report suggested that those rates will almost surely be lower than for China.
The semiconductors are also excluded from the “baseline” 10-percent tariff on most US trading partners and the added 125-percent levy on China.
Donald Trump has especially targeted China with his “reciprocal tariffs” meant to address practices Washington deemed unfair, most recently introducing a new 125-percent tariff on goods from the world’s second-biggest economy that took effect this week, reports AFP.
Among several other exempted products are hard drives and computer processors, which are generally not made in America. As Trump has referred to tariffs as a way to bring manufacturing back to the United States, it will take years to ramp up the domestic manufacturing.
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