Trump's exceptional tariff weekend

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. The Editorial Council, the Wall Street Journal 3 min Read April 14, 2025, 02:15 IST US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Photo: Reuters Summary His Customs Office announced on Friday the exceptions to the electronics that he had renounced on Sunday. President Trump takes exception to the idea that his administration offers exceptions to his punishment tariffs. This is the story after a confusing weekend that offers more lessons in the arbitrary nature of Trump trading policy. Late Friday, its own Department of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice listing products that will be exempt from Mr. Trump’s so -called reciprocal rates that can take up to 145% on goods from China. The exclusions apply to smartphones, laptops, hard drives, computer processors, servers, memory chips, semiconductor and other electronics manufacturing equipment. The CBP notification significantly decreases the rate rate of these products. Barron’s calculates that the exceptions import $ 385 billion in 2024. This includes $ 100 billion from China, or 23% of US imports from that country. The tariff rate drops to 20% on the newly released Chinese exports. The press reported it on Saturday without Cavil of the White House. We gave in to a WSJ.com editorial on Saturday afternoon and noted that it means a big postponement for powerful technical companies, although not for small manufacturers. But on Sunday morning, howard Lutnick, Secretary of Trade, said that rates on electronic goods will rise again in the future, although he has offered no details. Mr. Lutnick was not the most reliable voice on the administration’s plans, so it was taken with some caution. Eventually, Mr. Trump jumped late Sunday afternoon. “Nobody gets” from the hook “for the unfair trading balances and not -money tariff barriers that other countries have used against us, especially not China, which we are by far the worst!” he wrote. ‘There was no tariff’ exception ‘announced. These products are subject to the existing 20% ​​Fentanyl rates, and they just move to another rate ‘bucket’. ‘ ‘Mr. Trump blamed the press for the exceptions announced by his own CBP, although it was announced at a stealth fashion. And he announced that his administration was a “look at semiconductors and the entire electronic supply chain” for possible rates. What happened then and what is the right policy? Who knows? Maybe Mr. Trump does not receive exceptions from the reporting that technical giants such as Apple and smart and competent CEO Tim Cook. Other winners in the CBP notice are Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, and the managers and shareholders of Hewlett-Packard and TSMC. This is no rape on them, because their job is to pay attention to the best interests of shareholders, and that means getting tariff outings if they can. Some of the companies may not have sought exemptions, although the opacity of the process of getting one is the dream of the Beltway marsh. These releases of the CBP would be good news for consumers who otherwise face much higher prices for smartphones that are a base of modern life. How do you want an iPhone of $ 2400? But after the broad of Mr. Trump, technical enterprises and electronics businesses are left and wonder who will delay. Maybe Mr. Trump is not that exceptions are a tacit recognition that tariffs will make American businesses less worldwide competitive, especially in the artificial intelligence breed. This explains the exemptions for ASML’s chip making equipment and Nvidia’s graphic processing units. Mr. Trump first makes businesses less competitive, then he and his administration choose exceptions that help to stay competitive. Politicians, not success on the market, choose business winners and losers. Exemptions will also undermine the legal justification of the administration that its rates are needed to comply with a national ’emergency’. The import of glassware and umbrellas from China is an emergency, but the import of electronics is not? All this exposes the political nature of rates. Some industries benefit from it, but others do not. Sorry if you make shoes or clothing or thousands of other consumer products that have to pay the rates but do not have the political or market power to win exemptions. Sorry too, if you are a small manufacturer who relies on a component from China but cannot afford a K Street -Lobbyist. Welcome to the new tariff economy, where you still pay off -swallow taxes, endure the regulation of the punishment, and now also have to navigate the political minefield of arbitrary rates. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Donald Trump #Genitstate Mint Specials