U.S. President Donald Trump warned that he would soon announce tariffs on computer chips imported from overseas companies. But he said some companies in the industry will have flexibility.
His comments on Sunday meant that excluding smartphones and computers from his reciprocal tariffs on China could be short-lived.
Trump told reporters at Air Force One that he returned to Washington from his estate in West Palm Beach.
See also: China calls on us to cancel tariffs as Xi Jinping starts SE Asia Tour
Trump declined to say whether products like smartphones can still be exempted, but added: “You have to show some flexibility. No one should be so rigid.”
Earlier in the day, Trump announced National security trade survey to semiconductor sector.
“We are looking at the semiconductor and the entire electronic supply chain in the upcoming national security tariff investigation,” he posted on social media.
The White House announced a steep exclusion of reciprocity tariffs on Friday, giving them some hope to escape the escalating conflict between the two countries, and everyday consumer products such as phones and laptops will remain affordable.
Technical products face responsibilities in the coming months
But Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made it clear earlier Sunday that key technology products from China will face new responsibilities along with semiconductors over the next two months.
Trump's round trip Last week's tariffs triggered the craziest swing on Wall Street since the COVID pandemic Since Trump took office on January 20, the benchmark standard and Nord's 500 index have dropped by more than 10%.
Lutnick said Trump will put “special concern tariffs” on smartphones, computers and other electronic products in one or two months, along with departmental tariffs for semiconductors and drugs. He said the new responsibility will be outside Trump’s so-called reciprocity tariffs, with the imposition of China’s import tax rising to 125% last week.
“He said they are not subject to reciprocity tariffs, but they are included in semiconductor tariffs, which could be a month or two,” Lutnick said in an interview with ABC's “This Week”.
Beijing raises tariffs on U.S. imports to 125% Respond on Friday. On Sunday, ahead of Lutnick's comments, China said it was evaluating the impact of exclusions on technical products implemented later on Friday.
China's Ministry of Commerce said: “The bells on the tiger's neck can only be bound by people tied up.”
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump's campaign for president but criticized the tariffs campaign, called on Sunday to suspend China's wide and steep mutual tariffs for three months, just like Trump did last week with most countries.
If Trump suspends China's tariffs for 90 days and temporarily reduces them to 10%, “he will achieve the same goal that allows U.S. businesses to relocate supply chains from China without causing interference and risk,” Ackman wrote on X.
We “desire for meaningful transactions”
Northmantrader founder and chief market strategist Sven Henrich is very critical of how to deal with the tariffs on Sunday.
Henrich wrote on X: “Emotional Check: The day when Lutnick was fired, the biggest gathering of the year will be on the day when Lutnick was fired.
Democrat U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the latest revision of Trump's tariff plan, and economists warned that economists could curb economic growth and fuel inflation.
“There is no tariff policy, only chaos and corruption,” Warren said in ABC's “This Week.”
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a list of tariff codes that exclude import taxes in a notes to shippers late Friday. It comes in 20 product categories including computers, laptops, disc drives, semiconductor devices, memory chips, and flat panel displays.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said in an interview with NBC's Meet Media that the United States has opened talks to China, but he criticized China's links to the deadly fentanyl supply chain and did not include it in seven entities, including the seven, UK, UK, India, India, Japan, Japan, South, Indonesia, Indians and Israelis, which is by the executive statement, and he said that, which is what he said.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in CBS's Face the Nation that Trump has no plans yet to talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping on tariffs, accusing China of causing trade frictions by collecting taxes on its own. But he expressed hope for some non-China deals.
“My goal is to get meaningful deals 90 days ago, and I think we'll be with several countries in the next few weeks,” Greer said.
Ray Dalio, founder of the billionaire world's largest hedge fund, told NBC's “Meet the Media” that he fears the U.S. falls into a recession due to tariffs, or worse.
“At the moment, we're at the decision point and are very close to a recession,” Dalio said Sunday. “And I'm worried that if I don't do well, I'll be worse than a recession.”
- Jim Pollard's additional editor Reuters
See also:
China raises tariffs on U.S. goods to 125% as “hiking becomes a joke”
Trump suspends Asian relief to impose huge tariffs, but China imposes hiking
China curbs Hollywood movies, but says it's an open conversation
Chinese yuan, U.S. Treasury bonds are victims of market turmoil
From 100% tax to $1 billion fine: Tough dates for US TSMC
