Tariffs dwell: Trump makes main China tariffs concession as US-UK commerce deal ‘only days away’
Donald Trump’s administration appears to have made another concession on their Liberation Day levies by excluding smartphones, laptops and computer chips from its steep “reciprocal” tariffs.
It is the first sign of Trump’s softening stance towards China with the majority of iPhones produced in the country, hit hard by 145 per cent levies.
The announcement late on Friday would also benefit big tech companies such as Apple and Samsung.
The US Customs and Border Protection said items such as smartphones, laptops, machines used to make semiconductors and flat-panel monitors would be exempt.
It came as reports suggested that a breakthrough between UK and the US over tariffs could be reached in the coming days.
With just 90 days for the US to strike more than 90 deals, senior government sources told The Times that conversations over a potential agreement with Mr Trump would be held soon.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told reporters: “Of course we want to secure the best deal possible for British jobs and British industry. And we are absolutely … resolved to do everything we can.”
Tesla stops taking new orders in China for US-made models
Tesla has reportedly suspended taking new orders for Model S and Model X vehicles on its Chinese website as the world’s two largest economies exchange blows in a trade war.
Both models are made in the US and imported to China. New orders for the two models were also no longer available on the automaker’s WeChat mini-programme account in China, Reuters reported.
While the company did not give a reason for the move, it comes as China and US have been locked in an escalating trade war.
China on Friday raised its tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent after president Donald Trump’s decision to hike duties on Chinese goods to 145 per cent.
Higher US tariffs significantly increases the retail cost for Chinese consumers, making these cars more expensive than locally produced EVs.
The Texas-based company is least affected by Mr Trump’s tariffs among automakers due to its largely domestic manufacturing for sales in the US.
Japan will not use US treasuries to negotiate tariff
Japan will not use US Treasury holdings as a negotiation tool to counter US tariffs in talks scheduled between the two allies.
Both nations will negotiate tariffs on 17 April, days after the White House said it was prioritising Japan for trade talks.“As an ally, we would not intentionally take action against US government bonds, and causing market disruption is certainly not a good idea,” Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera told public broadcaster NHK today.
Mr Onodera stressed that Japanese carmakers would be among the biggest impacted by the 25 per cent blanket tariffs on automobiles.
“It’s important to stick to our guns” on this issue, he said, adding that the Japanese side should “strongly advocate” for the measures’ removal.
“It’s clear that the US is in trouble, so I think the conversation should start with us saying, ‘maybe it would be better to stop?’” he added.
SNL mocks ‘messiah’ Trump over chaotic tariffs policy
Saturday Night Live once again skewered President Donald Trump over his tariffs policy, following on from last week’s “Liberation Day” cold open.
James Austin Johnson returned to Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza as the president in an Easter-themed sketch that began with Jesus, played by Mikey Day, casting the moneylenders out of the temple on his arrival in Jerusalem.
The Biblical tableau froze as SNL’s Trump appeared.
“Remind you of anyone?” he said to laughter. “I also got rid of money last week, but instead of one temple, I did a whole country. Maybe even the globe. The money’s gone.”
Oliver O’Connell reports.
Apple averts major crisis after Trump’s smartphone exemption
Apple Inc has narrowly managed to dodge its biggest crisis since the pandemic due to Donald Trump’s exemption of smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China.
Mr Trump’s 125 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports threatened to upend its supply chains, causing major loss to the company.
“This is a major relief for Apple,” Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani told Bloomberg.
“The tariffs would have driven material cost inflation.”
To avoid duty, the tech giant chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tonnes of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the US from India.
Apple “wanted to beat the tariff”, one of the sources familiar with the planning told Reuters.
Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones a year worldwide, with an estimated one fifth of total iPhone imports to the US coming from India and the rest from China.
Trump to provide more info on chips tariffs on Monday
US president Donald Trump said that he would provide an update on his administration’s approach to semiconductor tariffs on Monday.
“I’ll give you that answer on Monday,” Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“We’re taking in a lot of money. As a country, we’re taking in a lot of money,” he added.
Trump exempts smartphones and laptops from new tariffs
US president Donald Trump’s administration granted exclusions from steep reciprocal tariffs to smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China, providing a big break to tech firms like Apple that rely on imported products.
In a notice to shippers, the US Customs and Border Protection agency published a list of tariff codes excluded from the import taxes, with retroactive effect from 12:01am (local time) on 5 April.
It featured 20 product categories, including the broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disc drives and automatic data processing. It also included semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays.
The notice gave no explanation for the move, but the late-night exclusion provides welcome relief to major technology firms such as Apple, Dell Technologies and many other importers.
Mr Trump’s action also excludes the specified electronics from his 10 per cent “baseline” tariffs on goods from most countries other than China, easing import costs for semiconductors from Taiwan and Apple iPhones produced in India.
