The Trump Administration said late on Friday that some electronics like smartphones and laptops will be excluded from reciprocal tariffs. The move could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics–most of which aren’t made in the U.S.
According to the Associated Press, the move could lead to an increase in tech stock prices next week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said items like smartphones, laptops, hard drives, flat-panel monitors and some chips would qualify to be excluded. That means they won’t be subject to the current 145% tariffs levied on China or the 10% baseline tariffs elsewhere.
The Trump Administration has asserted that the tariffs will spur companies to create their products in the United States, but even they recognize that tech companies like #Apple may not ever return to domestic manufacturing.
The AP notes that “It would take several years and cost billions of dollars to build new plants in the U.S., and then confront Apple with economic forces that could triple the price of an iPhone.”
The tariff war has battered tech stocks, with their combined market value plunging by $2.1 trillion, or 14%, from April 2, when Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on numerous countries.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a research note said that the change will lift “a huge black cloud overhang for now over the tech sector and the pressure facing U.S. Big Tech.”
