Global markets are facing renewed uncertainty following President Donald Trump’s latest comments on tariffs, following a post he wrote to his Truth Social account on Sunday.
Trump administration officials clarified that the exemptions granted for electronic products on Friday are only temporary, with new tariff rates expected to be announced as early as Monday.
Officials also stated that separate tariffs will be imposed on items such as laptops and smartphones, citing national security concerns. President Trump is also expected to introduce a special tariff on semiconductors, underscoring his push to shift the electronics supply chain back to the United States.
“NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair trade balances,” Trump posted Sunday evening. “There was no tariff ‘exception’ announced on Friday.” He noted further that his administration would be “taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN” in an upcoming probe into national security and tariffs.
During last week’s turbulent stretch for international markets and companies, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent while reducing them to 10 percent for most other countries. Late Friday, his administration released a list of exemptions to the steep China tariff rate, offering a temporary reprieve to major U.S. firms like Apple and Nvidia, which were facing significant disruption, The Times of London reported.
However, by Sunday, Trump’s advisers clarified that a 20 percent tariff on Chinese electronics related to illicit fentanyl production remained in effect. They also confirmed that the president plans to introduce a new tariff specifically targeting semiconductors.
The upcoming tariff will be implemented under a separate mechanism, with the administration citing national security risks posed by relying on foreign-controlled semiconductor supply chains—similar to the justification used for Trump’s earlier tariffs, including a 25 percent duty on steel and aluminum starting March 12, tariffs on vehicles from April 3, and on auto parts beginning May 3. Pharmaceuticals are also being reviewed for similar action.
Meanwhile, China has called on the Trump administration to “completely cancel” its aggressive tariff policy. This follows Beijing’s move to halt exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets essential to global semiconductor, automotive, and aerospace industries.
According to The New York Times, shipments of these magnets—which are also vital for cars, drones, and missile systems—have been blocked at Chinese ports.
During a back-and-forth with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, the president was asked about tariff exemptions for electronics and the possibility of semiconductor tariffs. He said: “I’ll give you that answer on Monday … But we’re taking in a lot of money. As a country, we’re taking in a lot of money.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was asked on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday if “big tariffs on things like smartphones and laptops, iPhones built in China” would come back “in another form in a month or so.”
“Correct. Semiconductors and pharmaceuticals will have a tariff model in order to encourage them to re-shore, to be built in America,” Lutnick responded. “We need our medicines and we need semiconductors and our electronics to be built in America. We can’t be beholden and rely upon foreign countries for fundamental things that we need.”
He noted further: “So you should understand these are included in the semiconductor tariffs that are coming and the pharmaceuticals are coming. Those two areas are coming in the next month or two.”
The exemptions released Friday night apply to U.S. tariffs imposed by President Trump under a 1977 law invoked to address what he declared a “national emergency” caused by the large trade deficit. The upcoming round of tariffs will be issued under the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, which grants the president authority to “adjust imports” that are deemed a threat to national security.