United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that the Trump administration will be imposing sector-specific tariffs on smartphones, computers, other electronic items, and semiconductors in the coming days. The new tariffs would take effect in a month’s time.
Telling ABC’s This Week, Lutnick said that the industries had previously been given temporary relief but now would be placed under a modified tariff regime intended to spur local production.
We can’t be counting on China for basic things that we require: our medicines and our semiconductors must be constructed in America,” Lutrick said.
He further stated that pharmaceutical tariffs would also be rolled out at roughly the same time. In the view of Lutrick, President Trump’s strategy is a targeted tariff system aimed at redirecting key manufacturing industries, most notably semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, back to America.
“A tariff model in order to encourage” US manufacturingthe Trump administration’s declaration on Friday, which exempted
Lutnick stressed that the previous exemption from reciprocal tariffs was temporary and part of a larger strategy to shift high-tech manufacturing to American soil.
“A tariff model in order to encourage” this movement will now be applied, he stated.
Previous Tariff Exemptions Were Chinese Imports
The move came on the heels of Friday’s declaration by the Trump administration exempting some electronic devices and semiconductors from recent retaliatory tariffs. The exemption had offered temporary respite to heavily China-importing firms.
The exemption, according to a bulletin released by US Customs and Border Protection, included smartphones, computers, solar cells, flat-panel TV displays, and semiconductor-based storage devices. All these had been subject to retaliatory duties of up to 145 percent, causing concern throughout the tech community.
Tech Giants Gained Short Reprieve
Apple, Samsung, and Nvidia were among the companies that appreciated the temporary relief. Apple alone lost more than $640 billion in market value after the initial tariff announcement. CNBC stated that the cost of an iPhone would have risen to $3,500 under some cost estimates if the duties had been implemented.
China Calls for Complete Tariff Cancellation
Responding to the latest turns of event, China’s Commerce Secretary called on the Trump administration to roll back its tariff policy entirely. On Sunday, he asked President Trump to “completely cancel” the tariffs and review his existing stand on trade constraints.
The move to impose sector-specific tariffs is another level of escalation of the current US-China trade war, especially over vital industries such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. As the impending tariffs draw near, business leaders and foreign onlookers are keeping a close eye on how this policy shift will affect global supply chains.
