U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has indicated that the tech industry may not be entirely shielded from new tariffs. On Friday evening, the Trump administration announced that consumer electronics, such as laptops and smartphones, would be exempt from the tariffs introduced earlier this month. Although Trump postponed many of these tariffs this week, he maintained a 10% baseline tariff and imposed an additional 125% tariff on goods from China.
Reports regarding these exemptions suggested that tech products could still face targeted tariffs in the future, particularly in relation to semiconductors, which are under close scrutiny. Lutnick clarified this during an interview on Sunday morning with ABC’s “This Week,” stating that while Trump has made certain products “exempt from the reciprocal tariffs,” they will still be included in “the semiconductor tariffs, which are likely coming in a month or two.”
“All those products are going to come under semiconductors, and they’re going to have a special focus type of tariff to ensure that those products are reshored,” Lutnick explained. “We need to have semiconductors, we need to have chips, and we need to have flat panels — we need to have these things made in America.”
When questioned about the potential impact of tariffs on American consumer prices, Lutnick responded, “I don’t think so,” and reiterated, “I think the idea is that we can manufacture in America.” However, critics have described Lutnick’s vision of a workforce of “millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones” as unrealistic.
In response, Trump took to Truth Social, asserting that there was “no Tariff ‘exception’ announced on Friday” and pointing out that electronics manufactured in China are still subject to a separate 20% tariff linked to fentanyl issues. He further stated that these products “are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’”
“The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it,” Trump wrote. “We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations.”
