New tariffs: Why is the U.S. government exempting cell phones and computers?
Trump hasn´t just exempted mobile phones and computers from tariffs, he also done so with the 125% duties on Chinese imports.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office published a bulletin on Friday the 11th stating that these products would be excluded from the global 10% tariff imposed on most countries. China is one of the countries whose tariffs far exceed that percentage.
However, the U.S. government may have changed its stance regarding these devices because tech companies are reportedly concerned about the siring prices of the products, as many of them are manufactured in China.
Trump´s approach to tariffs on countries around the world
Trump planned to impose high tariffs on countries around the world starting this week. But on Wednesday, April, he announced that he would grant a 90-day extension to the affected countries with exception to China.
The president stated that the measure was taken in response to China´s threat to raise tariffs on U.S. products to 84%.
Meanwhile, the White House claimed that this is a strategic move to secure more favorable trade benefits. Additionally, Trump also said that the tax increase will help the global trade system and bring factories and jobs back to the United States.
Repercussion on the brand “Apple”
Analyst Dan Ives stated that Trump´s measure gave Apple some relief in terms of iPhone sales, which accounted for more than half of all smartphone sales in the United States last year.
Eighty percent of the iPhone sold in the U.S. come from China, while the remaining 20% are manufactured in India. This is why Apple is looking to diversify its manufacturing locations between India and Vietnam.
Moreover, during Trump´s tariff moves, Apple accelerated and increased the productions of devices in India. This was done to minimize the impact of rising tariffs on future production.