The tariff saga continues, with Trump officials now saying that smartphones, computers, and chips may be tariffed under the semiconductor category.
Two days after the US exempted some incoming those categories from President Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that these products would be moved to the semiconductor category and subject to tariffs.
“Those products are going to be part of the semiconductor sectoral tariffs, which are coming [in a] month or so,” Lutnick told ABC News, adding that semiconductors “are going to have their own separate way of being considered.”
The reciprocal tariffs Trump announced on April 2 did not apply to semiconductors, lumber, or pharmaceuticals. The following day, however, Trump said he still planned to tariff foreign-made chips, potentially at 25% or higher. “The chips are starting very soon,” he said last week.
Amid backlash and market drops, Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, dropping them to 10%, though he raised China’s tariffs to 145%.
On Truth Social, Trump added to the confusion by arguing that “there was no tariff ‘exception’ announced on Friday.”
“These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’ The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it,” he added.
That’s not true. You get the 145% rate by adding the 125% rate Trump imposed on April 9, plus the previously imposed (and reported) 20% tariffs.
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“We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations,” Trump wrote. “What has been exposed is that we need to make products in the United States, and that we will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China, which will do everything within its power to disrespect the American People.”
Lutnick echoed those sentiments, arguing that semiconductors (and pharmaceuticals) are “going to have a special focus-type of tariff to make sure that those products get reshored.”
Some companies have pledged to invest more in the US, but moving manufacturing to the US is costly and time-consuming. The back-and-forth on tariffs also makes it hard for companies to plan. Many, like Nintendo and Apple, are shipping large orders into the US to avoid the tariffs. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, that strategy may “support solid revenue and profits for 2Q25, [but] if uncertainty surrounding US tariff policy persists beyond late 2Q25, business activities in 2H25—such as investment and hiring—could slow significantly, with 2H25 revenue growth potentially stalling or even turning negative.”d
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This article was published by WTVG on 2025-04-14 09:08:00
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