Tim Cook and Donald Trump in a meeting at the White House in 2018
Apple’s reprieve from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs against Chinese imports of iPhones and Macs is only temporary, as tariffs aimed at semiconductor imports will be arriving within a few months.
Late on Friday, Apple was granted a massive benefit from President Donald Trump, in the form of tariff exemptions applying against imports from China. However, it seems that those exemptions will only be temporary, as other tariffs are on the way.
According to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaking to ABC News, it is only a temporary reprieve. While iPhone, iPad, and Mac imports won’t be subject to the 145% reciprocal tariff that applies to Chinese imports, Lutnick says a “semiconductor tariff” will be applied instead.
All of the smartphones, computers, and other electronics that benefit from the reprieve will be hit by the semiconductor tariffs, Lutnick confirmed. However, while there is no word on what the actual tariff level will be, Lutnick insists it will arrive “in a month or two.”
The commerce secretary explained that the semiconductor tariff is a way to try and make component producers and device manufacturers to set up factories in the United States. Lutnick insisted that the U.S. shouldn’t be reliant on Southeast Asia for its electronics.
New tariffs for old
Though the new semiconductor tariffs will apply to Apple’s products, it remains to be seen how much lower they will be compared to all other products affected by the reciprocal tariff.
At the moment, the U.S. reciprocal tariff on Chinese imports is at 145%, as part of Trump’s tit-for-tat battle with China. China, meanwhile, has a tariff on U.S. goods imports of 125%, rising after each U.S. increase.
China also said it would not raise tariffs further, but warned other countermeasures may be adopted instead.
The battle has caused big problems for Apple investors, who have observed a very turbulent week for the share price. While the tariff break news late on Friday would’ve given some peace of mind to shareholders, the revelation that more tariffs of an unknown level brings even more uncertainty.
