CHINA: Beijing said the step was a “small” one in correcting Trump’s “wrong practice” of imposing tariffs. US Commerce Secretary Lutnick meanwhile said Washington will impose separate tariffs on electronics and semiconductors.
China described the Trump administration’s decision to exempt consumer electronics from hefty import tariffs as a “small step” in correcting a “wrong practice.”
A Commerce Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday that Beijing was “now evaluating the impact” of this exemption.
After Trump upped levies on Chinese goods to 145% earlier this week, a notice by the US Customs and Border Protection office published late on Friday exempted smartphones, computers and other electronic goods entering the US.
However, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the ABC broadcaster that the US will introduce specific tariffs targeting smartphones, computers and some other electronic devices, as well as semiconductors.
Trump’s expanded tariffs policy has sent shockwaves across markets worldwide. The US president paused most of his tariffs for 90 days earlier on Wednesday, but excluded China, prompting Beijing to respond by boosting its own levies on US goods to 125%.
How did China react to Trump’s exemption?
A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson called on the US on Sunday to “completely cancel” its tariffs.
“We urge the US to… take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and return to the right path of mutual respect,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
On Friday, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao warned in a call with the head of the World Trade Organization that tariffs would “inflict serious harm” on developing nations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping begins on Monday his five-day Southeast Asia tour, as Beijing strives to firm up financial alliances in the midst of a trade war with the US.
Xi is due to meet the leaders of Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.
US to impose separate tariffs on electronics, semiconductors
Electronic giants heavily reliant on Chinese production, such as California-based Apple or Texas-based Dell, barely breathed a sigh of relief when reports emerged that the US was planning separate tariffs on smartphones, computers and semiconductors.
US Commerce Secretary Lutnick told ABC’s “This Week” that semiconductor tariffs would probably be coming “in a month or two.”
“We can’t be relying on China for fundamental things that we need: our medicines and our semiconductors need to be built in America,” Lutnick said.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer meanwhile said the exempted electronics would still be subject to tariffs. Instead of falling under reciprocal tariffs, electronics would now be levied under the national security tariff regime.
The latter requires an investigation before the imposition comes into effect and “where we have studies ongoing for pharmaceuticals, for semiconductors, metals, et cetera,” Greer said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
What did Trump say about the exemptions?
Trump himself weighed in later on Sunday, vowing that “NOBODY is getting off the hook.”
“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 wrote on his own Social Truth platform.
The US president added that tariffs on semiconductors were being looked into, under the national security tariff investigations.
Trump has long defended his tariff policies, saying he aims to bring back manufacturing to the US. He reiterated the same concept in his Sunday post.
“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.”
Most electronic equipment, especially smartphones, are currently produced in Asia. High tariffs on foreign goods would likely translate to higher prices for US consumers, despite Trump vowing to bring down costs for Americans during his election campaign last year.
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