Trump Exempts Phones, Computers, Chips from New Tariffs
April 12th, 2025What’s next? Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)?
It’s the most well-known secret on Capitol Hill: China owns the American generic drug supply chain. Basic thyroid or blood pressure medications might finally be put into pill form in an Indian lab and sold under an Indian brand like Cipla. But the organic compounds, or key starting materials, mostly come from China. China is also a key supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). As a result, the U.S. generic drug market is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese and Indian drug makers.
“We are losing badly on pharmaceuticals,” said Michael Kuiken, a commissioner for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Via: CNBC:
Smartphones and computers are among many tech devices and components that will be exempted from reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, according to new guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The guidance, issued late Friday evening, comes after Trump earlier this month imposed 145% tariffs on products from China, a move that threatened to take a toll on tech giants like Apple
, which makes iPhones and most of its other products in China.
The guidance also includes exclusions for other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells, flat panel TV displays, flash drives, and memory cards.
These products could eventually be subject to additional duties, but they are likely to be far lower than the 145% rate that Trump had imposed on goods from China.
The exemptions are a win for tech companies like Apple, which makes the majority of its products in China. The country manufactures 80% of iPads and more than half of Mac computers produced, according to Evercore ISI.
