# Trump exempts smartphones and computers from new tariffs, but China levy remains
The White House backed off the full tariff hit for key electronics, while saying companies still need to move production home.
The Trump administration has exempted smartphones, computers and several other electronic devices from its "reciprocal" tariffs, including the 125% levies imposed on Chinese imports. The move, announced in a Customs and Border Protection notice, removes those products from the president’s 10% global tariff as well as the much larger China-specific import tax. It is the first significant reprieve in the administration’s tariff campaign against China, and it came after technology companies warned that consumer prices could surge.
The exemptions were backdated to April 5 and also cover semiconductors, solar cells and memory cards. That scope matters because it reaches well beyond finished gadgets. It gives relief to the supply chains that feed the electronics industry and suggests the administration is drawing a distinction between broad tariff pressure and a narrower group of sensitive technologies. Trump said late Saturday that he would provide more detail at the start of the next week, telling reporters on Air Force One that the White House was still taking in a lot of money and would be "very specific" about the policy.
The White House tried to frame the change as temporary and strategic rather than a reversal. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president has made it clear that the United States cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops. She said the companies are being pushed to onshore production in the United States as quickly as possible. That message is important because it shows the administration trying to keep tariff pressure as an industrial-policy tool even while easing the immediate consumer impact.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff on policy, said the electronics are still subject to a 20% tariff on China tied to fentanyl. So the reprieve is not total. It strips away the most punishing "reciprocal" charges but leaves a separate levy in place, preserving some pressure on Chinese goods. That distinction will matter to importers and to consumers who may have feared a price shock large enough to triple the cost of some iPhones if the full burden were passed on.
The move also comes after weeks of erratic tariff decisions. Trump had earlier announced a 90-day pause on higher tariffs for countries that had not retaliated, while raising the tariff on Chinese goods to 145%. The electronics exemption is part of that same fluid policy environment, one in which the administration has repeatedly moved between escalation and tactical relief. For tech firms such as Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft, the practical effect is immediate: the worst-case cost scenario for key products has been eased, at least for now. But the White House is making clear that it sees the reprieve as a window for companies to shift production rather than a sign that the tariff fight is ending.
