Electronic devices exempt from countdown tariffs will soon be subject to new semiconductor tariffs
On Friday night, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a list of products that do not include reciprocal tariffs, including smartphones, computers and memory chips, as well as other electronic devices and components. But in an interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on Sunday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the move does not mean that the products will be completely tax-free – they just got their own categories. “These products will be part of the upcoming semiconductor sector tariffs,” Lutnik said.
All this comes shortly after Trump imposed a 125% tariff on Chinese goods, the government confirmed CNBC In addition to the 20% tariff proposed earlier this year, the total amount for other media is 145%. Trump had previously announced higher reciprocity tariffs on other countries, but went back with a 90-day “pause” earlier this week. However, the pause does not apply to China, and almost all countries still have a 10% tariff on import tax rates. Electronic imports in particular will be hit by new rules, and we have seen companies like Nintendo and Razer change plans around upcoming product launches.
The newly published exclusion case will exempt many equipment and parts from global tariffs and China’s steeper tariffs, according to a notice released on Friday. Lutnick told ABC News Jonathan Karl that the president “just make sure everyone knows that all of these products are not outside of reciprocity tariffs and that they will have their own independent ways.” Lutnick, or in other words, the move is intended to “make sure these products are reconstituted and refilled.” “So what he is doing is that he says they are not exempt from reciprocity tariffs, but they are included in the tariffs on semiconductors and will be around a month or two,” Lutnik said.
Updated, April 13, 2025, 1:43 PM ET The story has been updated to include new information about separate semiconductor tariffs by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, which was shared in Sunday’s ABC News interview.
