Trump says there are no tariff exceptions in his trade war, despite electronics exemptions
President Trump on Sunday said there were no exceptions made to his tariff announcements, adding that "nobody" will see an exemption in his widening trade war. The message, posted to Truth Social, came after some electronics were excluded from his administration's 145% import levies on goods from China.
On Friday, a notice published by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office said that smartphones, computers and other electronics are excluded from his administration's tariffs on goods from China. Since early April, Mr. Trump has ratcheted up tariffs on China-made goods in a tit-for-tat between the U.S. and China over trade duties.
However, those electronics are still subject to the 20% tariff on China related to fentanyl, according to Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff on policy, and as reiterated by Mr. Trump in his Truth Social post on Sunday. Nevertheless, Wall Street is interpreting the change in tariff rates for electronics as a win for the tech sector, especially Apple, which manufactures most of its iPhones in China.
"[O]n Friday night by the White House excluding Big Tech and the chip sector from the China 145% reciprocal tariffs, this took the doomsday scenario off the table and tech stocks will rally tomorrow as investors can now breathe a sigh of relief," wrote Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives in a Sunday research note.
Stocks are poised to rise in Monday trading, with S&P 500 futures up 1.2%. That would come after the markets rallied on Friday, with the S&P gaining 1.8% and posting its best weekly performance since November 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq are also poised to rise Monday, with futures up 1% and 1.7%, respectively.
The Chinese commerce ministry said Friday's move was only "a small step" and all tariffs should be canceled.
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Monday — as he kicked off a Southeast Asia tour with a visit to Vietnam — that protectionism "will lead nowhere" and a trade war would "produce no winner."
Semiconductors and electronics supply chain
Despite the relief expressed by investors on Monday, Wall Street experts are cautioning that the Trump administration's messaging on tariffs could signal more pain ahead.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump wrote in his Truth Social post that his administration is examining the semiconductor industry and the electronics supply chain in its national security tariff investigations.
Those issues were highlighted Sunday by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in an interview with ABC News, when he said that the exemption on some electronics was only temporary and that they would be subject to "semiconductor tariffs" that would likely be introduced in a month or two.
"Directionally, things seem to be getting more positive for buy-rated tech giants like Apple and Nvidia — but it isn't yet an 'all clear,'" wrote Ben Reitzes of Melius Research in an April 14 research note.
Before the administration exempted smartphone and electronics from the global tariffs, Apple's popular iPhone was on course to see massive price increases, with prices jumping hundreds of dollars, depending on how Apple responds to the sweeping levies.
For instance, the iPhone 16 Pro Max 256 GB, which retails for $1,199, would have jumped to $1,874, an April 9 analyst from UBS Investment Research shows.
