The US has exempted certain tech products from China from import tariffs.
The list includes computers, laptops, disk drives, semiconductor devices, memory chips, and flat-screen displays.
This move aims to keep prices low for consumers and help major tech companies like Apple, Dell, Nvidia, and Microsoft.
Before this exemption, electronics imported from non-Chinese countries were subject to a basic 10% import tariff.
The latest exemption means tech companies won’t have to pay this 10% tariff on devices from non-Chinese countries either.
For instance, Apple won’t pay import tariffs on electronics from China, chips from Taiwan, or iPhones made in India.
Tariff Exemptions and Trade Tensions
The exemption comes after Donald Trump, the US President, announced a temporary pause on tariffs for several countries.
However, he increased tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% by combining a new 125% tariff with an existing 20% tariff.
China retaliated by raising tariffs on US goods to 125%.
Analysts predicted that the increased tariffs could lead to higher prices for top-of-the-line iPhones, potentially rising from $1,599 to $2,300.
Laptops like MacBooks could also be affected. To mitigate this, Apple reportedly ramped up iPhone production in India and chartered planes to transport over 1.5 million units to the US.
US Tech Industry and Trade Policies
When Trump took office on January 20, 2025, several tech CEOs attended the inauguration, including Elon Musk (Tesla), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Tim Cook (Apple), Sundar Pichai (Alphabet/Google), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber), and Zhou Shou Zi (TikTok).
Tim Cook’s presence was notable, as he hosted a dinner for Trump before the inauguration and visited him at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
The US government spokesperson stated that Trump’s goal is to reduce US dependence on China and encourage tech companies to relocate their manufacturing to the US.
China responded by saying that this exemption is a small step towards correcting the mistakes made in using retaliatory tariff measures and called on the US to lift all tariffs.
