Trump will explain tariffs on electronics on Monday

The administration announced late Friday that some electronics were exempt.

Last Updated: April 13, 2025, 11:43 PM EDT

President Donald Trump on Sunday said there will be no exceptions for tariffs on electronics and that he would clarify his administration's policy on Monday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced late Friday that some smartphones, computers, chips and other electronics would be exempted from tariffs, but Trump's top economic advisers hit the Sunday talk shows to explain the policy, saying that tariffs against electronics would be coming in the next month or two.

“There was no Tariff ‘exemption’ announced on Friday," Trump posted Sunday afternoon, and that semiconductor tariffs will “just be moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’”

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Apr 07, 2025, 3:12 PM EDT

Navarro says tariffs 'not a negotiation' while top Trump officials instructed to begin talks

As Trump has directed his top Cabinet officials to begin tariff negotiations with Japanese officials, another top Trump adviser has published an op-ed in the Financial Times saying that tariffs are "not a negotiation."

Trump's senior counselor for trade Peter Navarro wrote the op-ed and proclaimed that this is a national emergency, not a negotiation.

"President Trump is always willing to listen. But to those world leaders who, after decades of cheating, are suddenly offering to lower tariffs -- know this: that’s just the beginning," Navarro wrote in the op-ed.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday President Trump tasked him and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to "open negotiations to implement the President’s vision for the new Golden Age of Global Trade" with Japanese officials after Trump held a call with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Apr 07, 2025, 2:44 PM EDT

Speaker Johnson tells ABC: 'Give the president space' on tariffs

In the middle of a stock market selloff, Speaker Mike Johnson said Americans need to "give the president space" on tariffs and that Trump's strategy is "playing out."

"Do you still trust the president on tariffs? Trillions of dollars in the market have been lost," asked ABC News Correspondent Jay O'Brien.

"We have to give the president space. His strategy is playing out. It's been less than a week, so I think he's owed that," Johnson responded.

Asked if he would support legislation from Republican Rep. Don Bacon to rein in Trump's tariff authority, Johnson said Congress would "weigh in on that," but in tandem with the White House.

"You got to give the president the latitude, the runway, to do what it is he was elected to do, and that is get this economy going again and get our trade properly balanced with other countries. So I think most the American people understand the necessity of that," he said.

-ABC News' John Parkinson, Lauren Peller and Arthur Jones II

Apr 07, 2025, 1:53 PM EDT

Trump issues veto threat on bipartisan bill to rein in his tariff authority

Trump would veto a bipartisan bill seeking to rein in his authority to impose tariffs, according to a White House statement sent to Senate Republicans and obtained by ABC News. The veto threat was first reported by Axios.

President Donald Trump welcomes the members of the 2024 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the East Room at the White House in Washington, April 7, 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced legislation last week that would require the president to notify Congress of new tariffs and require it to vote to approve those tariffs within 60 days of their issuance. The bill has six other Republican cosponsors.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin and Jay O'Brien

Apr 07, 2025, 1:35 PM EDT

Trump ignores shouted questions on tariffs, markets

Reporters tried to ask Trump about his tariffs and the market volatility as he met Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the White House, but Trump did not respond.

Trump and Netanyahu are expected to discuss tariffs on Israel, which was hit with a 17% rate despite moving to cancel all remaining tariffs on American imports before Trump unveiled his "reciprocal" tariff policy last week.

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola