look news india
Former US President Donald Trump has taken another U-turn on the import duty imposed on China. The Trump administration has announced that smartphones, laptops, semiconductor chips and many other electronic products will now be out of counter duty. Most of these products are imported from China.
According to the notice issued by US Customs and Border Protection, neither 145 percent tariffs imposed on these products will be applicable nor 10 percent baseline tariffs on other countries.
Tech companies will get direct benefit
The discount will be applicable to the products that have reached the US before April 5 or out of the warehouses. This will provide relief to global tech companies like Apple, Samsung and Nvidia, which had earlier expressed concern about these heavy charges. Experts had already warned that the increase in tariffs could increase the prices of consumer electronics.
However, the Trump administration has not given any clear reason behind this exemption.
Most of the iPhone construction in China
According to an American agency, about 80 percent of Apple’s iPhones are made in China while the remaining 20 percent are assembled in India. Under the new order, not only smartphones, but also products like disc drive, data processing unit, semiconductor devices, memory chips, telecom equipment, chipmaking machinery, flat panel display and printed circuit board assembly will also come under tariff.
Many of these products are either not made at all in the US or are made in very limited quantities. Experts say that it may take years for the US to start construction of these items domestically.
Trump’s sudden decision change
Donald Trump recently announced a large scale tariff on several countries including China citing trade imbalance. The fee was implemented on 9 April, but only 13 hours later, he suspended the fee for 90 days for most countries, although a huge duty on China was maintained.
The reason for this U-turn is believed to be globally criticism and feedback of financial markets. After Trump’s announcement, there was a huge decline in the global stock markets and there was an increase in the possibility among investors that the US and other economies could move towards recession.