US Tariff War / There will be no retaliatory tariffs on smartphones and laptops - Trump takes a U-turn

US Tariff War: US President Donald Trump has once again made a major change in his tariff policy and removed the possible reciprocal tariff on electronic products. This decision has come at a time when earlier the US had given relief from tariffs for 90 days on all countries except China. Now the Trump administration has excluded many major electronic goods like smartphones, laptops and semiconductors from the list of tariffs.

This move has given a big relief to global companies like Apple, Samsung, Dell, which get most of their products manufactured in China and other Asian countries. The implementation of tariffs could have increased the prices of these products, which would not only reduce the profits of the companies, but American consumers would also have to pay expensive prices.

Reason behind Trump's U-turn

According to a Bloomberg report, this U-turn has come after warnings given by financial experts. Experts had warned that if tariffs were imposed on products such as smartphones, laptops and chips, it would not only hurt the US tech industry but could also worsen the global semiconductor crisis.

The semiconductor industry is already facing supply shortages, and companies in this sector put pressure on the Trump government that new tariffs could prove disastrous for them.

Which products got relief?

The products that the US has exempted from tariffs mainly include the following:

Smartphones

Laptops and automatic data processing machines

Semiconductor chips and their components

Routers and network switches

NAND flash memory

Transistors

Mounted piezoelectric crystals

Parts used in electronic machines

Apart from these, there are many other electronic products that have been exempted from this retaliatory duty.

Future impact

The biggest benefit of this decision will be for American consumers, who will no longer have to pay higher prices for essential devices like smartphones and laptops. At the same time, tech companies will be helped in maintaining stability in the global supply chain.

However, this decision may also indicate a change in the strategy of the Trump government regarding the ongoing trade tussle with China. While on the one hand tariffs are being used as a weapon, on the other hand President Trump has to change his stance repeatedly to maintain economic balance.