▼ Summary
– The Trump administration has excluded smartphones, computers, and other electronics from new tariffs imposed last week, although these items are still subject to pre-existing tariffs.
– US Customs and Border Protection revised guidelines to exempt certain electronics and semiconductor machinery from additional tariffs.
– The White House memo indicated adjustments in small-parcel shipping duties, eliminating duty-free shipping on low-value packages and tripling the rates.
– Products excluded from the new tariffs are still subject to a 20% duty related to curtailing fentanyl shipments and other older tariffs.
– The tariffs were expected to increase prices on tech products, with some companies like Sony and OnePlus already adjusting prices, while others like Nintendo and Apple took precautionary measures.
The Trump administration has opted to exclude “smartphones, computers, and other electronics,” including those imported from China, from the tariffs imposed last week, reports Bloomberg. However, these items are still subject to other existing tariffs that were in place before Trump’s April 9th tariffs.
Late last night, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revised its guidelines to exclude smartphones, laptops, hard drives, computer processors, and memory chips from the additional 125 percent tariff on Chinese goods and the base 10 percent global tariff on most other countries, as reported by Bloomberg. This exemption also applies to machinery used by companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to produce semiconductors.
Following the publication of this story, Bloomberg updated its report to note that the White House released a memo indicating that the exemptions also include adjustments in small-parcel shipping duties. According to the outlet, Trump’s tariff plan involved eliminating duty-free shipping on low-value packages. The President had tripled the rates for such packages in an executive order amendment issued on Tuesday night.
Bloomberg also mentions in its updated story that products excluded in the CBP’s update are still subject to “a 20% duty aimed at pressuring Beijing to curtail fentanyl shipments, including precursor materials,” along with other tariffs “that predate Trump’s current term.”
This development comes after Trump’s decision to implement a “90-day pause” on increased tariff rates for most countries, while raising the overall rate for Chinese imports to 145 percent, the same day they became effective.
It was anticipated that the tariffs, particularly those targeting China, would lead to price increases on popular tech products in the US. In some instances, this has already occurred, with Sony seemingly factoring the tariffs into US prices for its latest TVs and OnePlus raising the price of its new smartwatches without indicating the reason.
Other companies appear cautious, waiting for the uncertainty of Trump’s trade policies to stabilize. For example, Nintendo postponed US preorders for the Switch 2 but is maintaining its $449.99 launch price, while Apple reportedly hurried to import 600 tons of iPhones from India before the tariffs were enforced this week.
(Source: The Verge)
