Trump Exempts Electronic Items From 'Reciprocal' Levies

The exclusions would apply to hard drives, smartphones, laptops, computer processors, and memory chips

- Agencies

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump's administration exempted smartphones, computers, and other electronics from its so-called "reciprocal" tariffs, potentially cushioning consumers from sticker shock while benefiting electronics giants including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

The move came as retaliatory Chinese import tariffs of 125% on US goods took effect on Saturday, with Beijing standing defiant against its primary trade competitor.

The exclusions, published late Friday by US Customs and Border Protection, narrow the scope of the levies by excluding the products from Trump's 125% China tariff and his baseline 10% global tariff on nearly all other countries.

Trump's prior 20% duties on all Chinese imports that he said were related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis remain in place.

The exclusions would apply to smartphones, laptop computers, hard drives, and computer processors and memory chips. Those popular consumer electronics items generally aren't made in the US. Setting up domestic manufacturing would take years.