Trump's Fluctuating Tariff Policy: Electronics Subject to Separate Tariffs, U.S. Postpones Tariffs on 75 Countries for 90 Days

In early April 2025, President Trump of the United States announced the implementation of "reciprocal tariffs" on multiple countries. Subsequently, on April 11, he released a list of 20 electronic products exempt from tariffs. However, Trump denied the existence of this policy, calling it "fake news," and planned to impose "semiconductor tariffs" on these products. Meanwhile, the U.S. temporarily postponed the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on 75 countries for 90 days. This policy repeatedly triggered market fluctuations, and experts warned that investment risks in Taiwan's stock market have increased.

Tariff Exemption List Announced: 20 Electronic Products Temporarily Exempt from Tariffs

On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a list of 20 categories of electronic products that will not be affected by the originally planned 125% reciprocal tariffs. These products include smartphones, laptops, automated data processing equipment, disk drives, semiconductor devices, memory chips, flat panel displays, servers, printers, solar cells, and more, covering broad classifications such as HTS code 8471.

According to the CBP announcement, these exemptions took effect at 12:01 AM Eastern Time on April 5 and apply to all trading partners, including China. This move is considered a significant advantage for tech giants like Apple, NVIDIA, and Microsoft, as most of their products are manufactured in China or the Asian region.

Trump Denies Exemption Policy, Emphasizes Implementation of "Semiconductor Tariffs"

Despite the CBP announcement clearly listing the exemptions, Trump posted on social media on April 13, denying that any tariff exemptions had been announced, calling related reports "fake news." He emphasized that these products had merely been reclassified and would still face new individual tariffs.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later confirmed in an interview on ABC's "This Week" that these electronic products would be included in the "semiconductor tariffs" category within one to two months and would be subject to special targeted tariffs. He stated, "This is not a permanent exemption; these products are related to national security and must be manufactured domestically in the U.S."

Lutnick further explained that these new tariffs are not part of Trump's so-called "reciprocal tariff" system and cannot be canceled through bilateral negotiations, emphasizing that the U.S. will push for the reshoring of the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries.

Contradiction Between Exemption List and Policy Statements Causes Market Confusion

The differing statements between Trump and the CBP have led to confusion about the policy direction in the market. Although the CBP announcement clearly lists the exempt products, Trump called it "fake news" and emphasized that China is the most challenging trade adversary for the U.S., and cannot continue to exploit the U.S.

This contradiction has raised questions about internal policy coordination within the White House. Reuters reported that the exemption list might just be a "grace period," and the Trump administration still plans to impose new tariffs on specific electronic products.

U.S. Temporarily Suspends Reciprocal Tariffs on 75 Countries for 90 Days

Beyond the electronic product exemption controversy, the Trump administration also announced on April 9 that it would temporarily suspend reciprocal tariffs on 75 countries, including Taiwan, the EU, South Korea, and Japan, for 90 days. These countries were initially facing punitive tariffs of up to 32%, but under diplomatic pressure, the U.S. decided to suspend implementation, maintaining only a 10% baseline tariff.

According to The Initium Media, Taiwan was originally on the high tariff list, causing a strong backlash from the government. President William Lai immediately wrote to Bloomberg, proposing four major actions to deepen Taiwan-U.S. economic and trade relations, and sent Deputy Premier Cheng Li-chun to lead a delegation to the U.S. for negotiations. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu also confirmed that Taiwan has been included in the 90-day suspension list.

Experts Warn: Policy Reversals Increase Risks for Taiwan Stock Market

The reversals and uncertainties in Trump's policies have caused significant volatility in the financial markets. Taiwan's stock market plummeted nearly 10% in early April due to tariff news, then rebounded 1,600 points after the suspension announcement. Experts point out that such dramatic fluctuations reflect the market's high sensitivity to policy directions.

Financial writer Di Xiang commented on social media, "Luckily, the news of individual tariffs didn't come out after the market opened on Monday, or many investors would have suffered heavy losses." He advised investors to maintain discipline and avoid entering the market rashly before the policy becomes clear.

U.S. stock market expert Shi Yatang observed that after the Trump administration announced the electronic product exemptions, the next day the Commerce Secretary announced the imposition of individual tariffs, indicating rapid changes in policy direction, and investors should respond cautiously.

References

• 美國豁免部分商品對等關稅 中國呼籲徹底取消 – DW – 2025年4月13日
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• 川普打臉！關稅豁免「假新聞」 電子產品、半導體另課稅
• 川普不豁免了！美國將徵「半導體關稅」 專家：大家有1個月可搶貨
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