In a surprise announcement extremely late on Friday night, President Trump has exempted smart phones, computers, and chips from the so-called reciprocal tariffs, sparing Apple and others billions in import fees.
Apple CEO Tim Cook [left] with Donald Trump [right] at a Mac Pro factory
The exclusions published near midnight eastern time grant exemptions to products that would take years to develop in the US. Apple is greatly helped by the exemptions, with much of Apple’s product line now exempt from the 145% tariff applied.
Almost the entirety of Apple’s product line is now exempt from the enhanced tariffs. Computers, smartphones, monitors, flash memory, DRAM, and other storage like hard drives are exempt for the time being.
