US President Donald Trump has warned that no country is ‘off the hook’ for tariffs. Since Trump launched a global tax offensive, specifically targeting Chinese imports, the world’s two largest economies have rapidly adopted retaliatory measures of tax increases, plunging the global economy into a high-stakes game.
The “like for like” exchange has seen US tariffs on China rise to 145 percent, while Beijing has imposed a retaliatory 125 percent tariff on US imports. The US side eased the pressure on Friday by listing tax exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronic products, for which China is a major source.
Trump and some of his top aides said Sunday that the 90-day tax break was a misguided move. It would only be temporary as Trump’s team is discussing new tariffs on many of the items on the list. “Not just China, but especially the one who treats us the worst in terms of taxes by far! No one is immune to the risk of ‘tax hikes,’” the US president said in a message released on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Saturday night.
Trump and some of his top aides said Sunday that the 90-day tax break was a misguided move. It would only be temporary as Trump’s team is discussing new tariffs on many of the items on the list. “Not just China, but especially the one who treats us the worst in terms of taxes by far! No one is immune to the risk of ‘tax hikes,’” the US president said in a message released on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Saturday night.
Earlier, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce had called Friday’s move “just a small step” and insisted that the Trump administration should “completely cancel” the entire tariff strategy. The United States on Friday exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from “reciprocal” tariffs, reducing the cost impact on American consumers of popular high-tech products.
In a notice issued on Friday night, the US Customs and Border Protection imposed an additional 145 percent tax on various electronic goods, including smartphones and other technology products, imported from China to the US.
Semiconductors are also exempt from the ‘base’ 10 percent tariff in most US trading partners and the additional 125 percent tariff in China. The new exemption will benefit American tech companies like Nvidia and Dell, as well as Apple, which makes iPhones and other premium products in China.
Short-term relief
Some targeted exemptions from upcoming sector-specific tariffs on items considered critical to the US national defense network could provide short-term relief for electronics consumers.
“We are looking at semiconductors and the entire electronics supply chain in the upcoming national security tax investigation,” Trump said Sunday. US President Trump said he would provide “very specific” details on Monday, while his Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the semiconductor tax would go into effect “within a month or two.”
“Pharmaceutical products could be exempt from ‘reciprocal’ taxes,” said Lutnick, who used the administrative term for the tax with the goal of bringing all U.S. trade imbalances to zero. US President Trump announced a 90-day pause earlier this month, one after another, in the financial markets by announcing sweeping import tariffs on dozens of trading partners.
China has been excluded from this exemption
The White House has said Trump is optimistic about reaching a deal with China, although US officials have said Beijing must first reach out. Trump’s trade representative, Jameson Greer, spoke to CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday and said there were no immediate plans for talks between US President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
