Trump has exempted key electronics—like smartphones, laptops, and semiconductors—from the tariff hike, a carve-out that critics argue gives Big Tech and China an easy off-ramp.
The exemption, published late Friday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, spares nearly 20 categories of electronics from Trump’s Executive Order 14257, which otherwise raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%.
The Trump administration framed the exemption as a matter of “strategic alignment,” arguing that these critical technologies are too vital to disrupt in the short term. But to many conservatives, it’s a “gut punch to patriots” who expected Trump’s tariffs to hit hard across the board—not carve out exceptions for industries that profit off Chinese labor while outsourcing American jobs.
“This is a sweetheart deal for Big Tech, foreign manufacturers, and of course to China,” critics noted. Companies like Apple, which continue to assemble billions in electronics in China, now stand to benefit even amid a so-called trade crackdown.
Still, the broader policy remains aggressive. Trump escalated tariffs after China retaliated with its own 84% tariff on all U.S. imports—a move widely seen as a desperate counterattack. President Trump fired back within hours, raising tariffs to 125%, stating on Truth Social:
“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. …China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A. … is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”
Trump added that more than 75 countries have reached out to U.S. trade officials to negotiate, and as a goodwill gesture, he has authorized a temporary 90-day pause for certain tariffs, lowering some duties to 10%.
However, Yahoo News clarified that the true tariff rate on China is now 145%, not 125% as previously believed—due to separate 20% penalties already in place for issues like fentanyl trafficking and illegal migration.
Bottom line: Trump is sending a message to Beijing that the U.S. won’t be pushed around—but the decision to let major tech companies off the hook has raised eyebrows among America First conservatives who expected tough, across-the-board enforcement, not corporate carve-outs.
