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 13, 2025, 5:27 PM EDT

China says electronics exemption is a ‘small step’

China says the Trump administration’s exemptions for smartphones, laptops and other electronics is a “small step” in correcting a “wrong practice,” urging the U.S. to completely cancel Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

"We urge the US … to take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of 'reciprocal tariffs' and return to the right path of mutual respect," China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

Beijing is now “evaluating the impact” of the exemption, the statement said.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during the flight from Palm Beach to Miami aboard Air Force One, April 12, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Hedge fund billionaire and vocal Trump supporter Bill Ackman posted on X today: “The rift is healing. China ‘asks’ for relief from the tariffs creating an opening for a 90-day China tariff pause and negotiations.” Ackman had earlier in the week urged Trump to pause those reciprocal tariffs shortly before the president announced the pause, warning that businesses would go bankrupt.

But on Sunday afternoon, Trump posted on Truth Social that tariffs on these products are “just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’”

“NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair Trade Balances,” the president added. “Especially not China, which, by far, treats us the worst!”

-ABC News’ Selina Wang

Apr 13, 2025, 4:50 PM EDT

Trump says tariff exemptions announced Friday aren't exceptions

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

“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!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Trump’s top economic and trade aides made the same argument on Sunday talk shows: that smartphones, computers and other electronics were removed from the sweeping reciprocal tariffs the president announced on April 2 and will be part of a separate national security classification under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 Trump is to announce, they said.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during the flight from Palm Beach to Miami aboard Air Force One, April 12, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

“We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations,” Trump wrote.

A bulletin posted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection late Friday night said the administration was exempting smartphones, computers, and other electronics from his reciprocal tariffs.

Trump did not push back Saturday night when a reporter asked for details on “exemptions.”

“I'll give you that answer on Monday. We’ll be very specific on Monday,” Trump said. “We're taking in a lot of money. As a country, we’re taking in a lot of money.”

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

Apr 12, 2025, 11:37 PM EDT

Trump says details on semiconductor tariffs plan coming Monday

President Donald Trump said he'll share more details on Monday on his plan for separate tariffs on semiconductor chips.

Asked about the plan by reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said, "We’ll be very specific on Monday. We're taking in a lot of money. As a country, we’re taking in a lot of money."

The comments came after the Trump administration announced that smartphones, computers, chips and other electronics would be exempt from the escalating tariffs Trump has imposed on other Chinese imports, which now stand at 145%.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow

Apr 12, 2025, 1:37 PM EDT

White House responds to tech tariff exemptions

After the Trump administration announced tariff exemptions on key technology products, the White House is touting the investments that global tech companies have committed to making in the United States.

"President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News.

Leavitt claimed tech companies like Apple and Nvidia are making more investments in the U.S.

"At the direction of the President, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible," she claimed, without providing more details.

A White House official told ABC News that the president has said autos, steel, pharmaceuticals, chips and other specific materials will be included in specific tariffs.

This means the relief for certain technology sectors could be short-lived.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on April 11, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Other tariffs also still apply to smartphones, laptops and other electronics announced in the exemption, as they only exempt those products from Trump's most recent tariffs. The administration had earlier imposed 20% fentanyl-related tariffs in February.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

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