Trump tariffs reside: President warns no nation ‘off the hook’ with smartphone exemptions ‘to be short-lived’
Donald Trump says no country is “off the hook” for “unfair trade balances”, ahead of his expected new tariffs on powerful computer chips.
The president said he would detail the new tariffs on superconductor chips this week, just days after the White House excluded smartphones and other electronics from the ultra-high levies on goods from China.
But the president said those goods were not exempted from tariffs entirely, rather they had been put in a new “tariff bucket” and remain subject to the broad 20 percent tariff hike the White House had previously placed on Chinese goods in its fight against fentanyl.
Trump’s commerce secretary Howard Lutnick made clear that critical technology products from China would face separate new duties along with semiconductors within the next two months.
Trump said he wants companies to make chips and semiconductors in the U.S. so the American economy is not “held hostage” by other countries.
“NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
Since Trump came to power, cowardice has become contagious
Afflicting prominent figures and institutions from the tech bros to Ivy League universities and world leaders, the great grovel to Donald Trump is well underway, writes Alan Rusbridger:
IMF warns major events including trade wars can lead to stock market crashes
The International Monetary Fund has warned major events including trade tensions can trigger large stock market corrections.
In its forthcoming Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF warned those corrections could in turn create market volatility that could threaten financial stability, Reuters reported.
While the IMF did not mention specific events, such as the aggressive tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, it noted that news-based measures of risk, including wars, terrorist attacks and trade restrictions had increased sharply since 2022.
The IMF is due to release its full report during its spring meetings later this month, and Trump’s tariff policies are likely to dominate the talks.
A timeline of Trump’s tariffs
Here’s a short timeline of Donald Trump’s changing tariffs, since his inauguration earlier this year.
January 20 – Announced additional 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico
January 26 – Imposes tariffs of 25 percent on Colombia.
February 1 – Enacts the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and adds 10 per cent tariffs on China. All three countries threaten to retaliate.
February 3 – Announces 30-day pause on Canada and Mexico tariffs.
February 10 – Introduces 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum exports to the U.S.
March 26 – Announces 25 percent tariff on cars and all car parts shipped to the U.S.
April 2 – Reveals 10 percent tariff on any country exporting goods to U.S, unless tariffs already exist. Announces even higher reciprocal tariffs for dozens of countries.
April 9 – Higher tariffs take effect, but within hours are paused for 90 days – except the general 10 percent increase, and on China tariffs, which are lifted to 145 percent.
April 11 – Trump administration says electronic goods will be exempted from tariffs.
Sony raises prices on PS5 in Europe due to ‘challenging economic environment’
Japanese game developer Sony has announced it is increasing the prices for its PlayStation 5 consoles in select markets, effective today, due to a “challenging economic environment”.
Sony said it had made the “tough decision” to raise retail prices due to factors including “high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates”, lifting prices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The PS5 Digital Edition will now cost €499.99 in Europe and £429.99 in the UK.
The company did not announce similar price increases for North America.
Dame CEO Alexandra Fine told CBS she wanted the public to understand why products were becoming more expensive.
“The intention of adding the Trump tariff surcharge as a line item at checkout was to remind people that this is an extra tax on us,” she said.
Global stock markets lift following tech tariff exemption
Global stock markets rebounded Monday morning following news electronics would be exempted from aggressive tariffs, despite warnings those exemptions may only be temporary.
After last week’s market turmoil, Asian markets lifted with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 1.2 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rising 2.2 percent.
Germany’s Dax index rose 1.9 percent in early trades, while France’s Cac 40 was up 1.8 percent.
The UK’s FTSE 100 also rose, up 1.8 per cent to 8121 points in early trades.
White House prepares for visit from president of El Salvador
The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is visiting the White House on Monday, as the Central American country continues to accept immigrants into its notorious gang prison through the administration’s deportation program.
So far this year the country has accepted more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants, and put them in the maximum security gang prison just outside the country’s capital San Salvador.
Among the prisoners is a Maryland man, who the administration admitted was wrongly deported but has not been returned to the U.S.
Donald Trump said he was looking forward to seeing President Bukele on Monday.
“President Bukele has graciously accepted into his Nation’s custody some of the most violent alien enemies of the World and, in particular, the United States,” he wrote on social media.
He continued: “These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign Nation, and their future is up to President B and his Government. They will never threaten or menace our Citizens again!”
Watch: Trump defends Putin over Russia’s Palm Sunday attack on Ukraine
Donald Trump has said he was informed that Russia’s missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy was a “mistake”.
China says exemption for electronics a ‘small step’ towards correcting tariffs
China said the U.S should go further to end the trade war, after announcing electronic goods including smartphones and computers would be exempted from aggressive tariffs.
Chinese state media outlet China Daily reported a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce as saying: “We have noted that this marks the second adjustment the US has made to its policy since it postponed the imposition of high ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on certain trading partners on April 10.
“This can be seen as a small step toward correcting its erroneous unilateral practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’.”
The president of the China Center for Information Industry Development told the outlet that the exemptions showed “how important China is to major US tech companies that rely heavily on the country for manufacturing and innovation”.
Billionaire investor warns U.S is close to a recession
Ray Dalio said the “disruptive” nature of Donald Trump’s tariff announcements were causing market instability, and told NBC’s Meet the Press that “something that is much worse than a recession” could occur depending on how the White House handled it.
“We are having profound changes in our domestic order […] and we’re having profound changes in the world order. Such times are very much like the 1930s,” he said.
“So if you take tariffs, if you take debt, if you take the rising power challenging existing power, if you take those factors and look at the factors – those changes in the orders, the systems, are very, very disruptive.”
He continued: “How that’s handled could produce something that is much worse than a recession. Or it could be handled well.”
Electronics exemptions to be short-lived, Trump administration says
Exemptions for electronic goods including smartphones from steep tariffs are likely to be short-lived.
The White House announced Friday that goods, including semiconductor chips and solar cells, would be exempted from sweeping tariffs, including the 145 percent levy on goods from China.
But Donald Trump’s commerce secretary Howard Lutnick made clear that critical technology products from China would face separate new duties along with semiconductors within the next two months.
Lutnick said Trump would introduce a “special focus-type of tariff” on computers, smartphones and other electronics in a month or two, alongside tariffs targeting semiconductors.
Lutnick said on Sunday that these levies would fall outside the so-called reciprocal tariffs previously announced.
“He’s saying they’re exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but they’re included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two,” Lutnick said in an interview on ABC’s This Week.
Source: independent.co.uk
