The Trump administration announced a temporary tariff exemption for 20 categories of electronic products, including products made in China.

Taiwan • Business • 04/12 14:39
The Trump administration announced a temporary tariff exemption for 20 categories of electronic products, including products made in China.

On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the directive of President Trump, announced a temporary exemption for 20 categories of electronic products, including smartphones, laptops, and semiconductors, from the reciprocal tariff policies. This exemption applies to global imports, including those from China. The exemption took effect on April 5 and will last for at least 90 days, providing short-term relief to companies such as Apple, Nvidia, and TSMC, and helping U.S. consumers avoid the pressure of rising electronic product prices.

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On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the directive of President Trump, announced a temporary exemption for 20 categories of electronic products, including smartphones, laptops, and semiconductors, from the reciprocal tariff policies. This exemption applies to global imports, including those from China. The exemption took effect on April 5 and will last for at least 90 days, providing short-term relief to companies such as Apple, Nvidia, and TSMC, and helping U.S. consumers avoid the pressure of rising electronic product prices.

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Exemption Policy Background and Scope

On April 2, 2025, the Trump administration announced the launch of the "Reciprocal Tariff" policy, imposing punitive tariffs on countries that do not provide reciprocal market access to U.S. goods. China, identified as a primary target for countermeasures, was subjected to tariffs as high as 125%, which were further increased to 145% on April 9. Meanwhile, a standard global tariff of 10% was generally applied to imports from other countries.

However, following strong backlash from the tech industry and consumer groups, the Trump administration announced late on April 11 through a CBP notice a temporary exemption for 20 categories of electronic products. These products include smartphones, laptops, central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), memory chips, solid-state drives, WiFi routers, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and more, encompassing nearly all essential components of modern consumer and industrial electronics.

List of Exempt Products and Tariff Classifications

According to the CBP notice, products covered under the following HTSUS codes will be temporarily exempt from reciprocal tariffs:

  • HTSUS 8471, 8473.30: Computers and peripheral equipment
  • HTSUS 8486: Semiconductor manufacturing equipment (e.g., ASML lithography machines)
  • HTSUS 8517.13.00, 8517.62.00: Smartphones, wireless communication devices, WiFi routers, etc.
  • HTSUS 8523.51.00: Solid-state storage media (SSDs, memory cards, USB flash drives)
  • HTSUS 8524: Optical discs, tapes, and other recording media
  • HTSUS 8528.52.00: Monitors
  • HTSUS 8541.10.00 to 8541.59.00: Various semiconductor components
  • HTSUS 8542: Integrated circuits (CPUs, GPUs, microcontrollers, memory control chips, etc.)

These products are core import items for U.S. tech companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Dell, with most assembly or production located in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam.

Exemption Duration and Applicable Parties

According to the CBP notice and previous White House statements, this exemption takes effect from 12:01 AM on April 5, 2025, and is expected to last for at least 90 days, until early July. Although the notice does not specify an end date, it is widely expected that the exemption period will align with the "90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs" policy announced by Trump on April 9.

Notably, this exemption applies not only to non-Chinese products but also to Chinese-manufactured electronic products. For example, in 2024, the U.S. imported $41 billion worth of smartphones from China, accounting for 81% of total U.S. smartphone imports. Under the original 145% tariff, the tax liability would have been nearly $60 billion; with the exemption, only a 20% rate applies, reducing the tax burden to about $8 billion.

Involved Companies and Trade Data

According to reports from TipRanks and Bloomberg, beneficiaries include companies such as Apple, Nvidia, Dell, and TSMC. Apple, with most of its iPhones and iPads assembled in China, would have faced significant tariff pressure. Nvidia and Dell rely on Asian supply chains for assembly and parts procurement. TSMC, with its Taiwan-produced CPU and GPU products included in the exemption list, avoids tariff impacts.

According to CBP and Treasury Department data, this exemption covers approximately $385 billion worth of 2024 imports, accounting for 12% of total U.S. annual imports. Of these, exempted goods from China are valued at about $100 billion, representing 23% of China's exports to the U.S. Before the exemption, these products had an average tariff rate of 45%; post-exemption, the average rate drops to 5%.

Policy Explanation and Official Statements

The CBP notice states: "All products correctly classified under the above HTSUS codes will be temporarily exempt from reciprocal tariffs starting April 5, 2025." The White House has not issued an official comment on this notice, but according to Bloomberg and BBC reports, the exemption is viewed as a strategic concession by the Trump administration in response to industry pressure and international negotiations.

Additionally, according to EY Global Tax News, the Trump administration announced on April 9 a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs for countries other than China. China, because of its retaliatory tariffs of up to 84% on U.S. goods, is excluded from the suspension list and subjected to an overall tariff of 145%.

References

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