Are computers and smartphones subject to tariffs? Yes, but it's a little complicated.
Friday the US Customs and Border Protection agency said electronics manufacturers will not have to face the tariffs that have been invoked by the US in retaliation for tariffs already placed by other nations, but the statement mentioned only those retaliatory tariffs, it didn't say that electronics will have their own separate category.
While manufacturers like Apple, Dell and NVidia breathed sighs of relief at the news, it doesn't mean electronics will be free from tariffs, which will likely jack up the price of electronics when those tariffs are finally applied.
Appearing on Sunday's ABC This Week TV show, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said some important products are being separated from regular tariffs into categories, electronics being one example, at the behest of President Donald Trump.
"What he's saying is these products will be exempted from reciprocal tariffs (which are in place now) but they're included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in a month or two," Lutnick said.
The Trump administration was just attempting to make it clear that electronics are not automatically "part of the tariffs you're hearing about these days," they'll have their own special designation, he added.
The electronics exceptions amount to a lot of money, $385 billion worth of 2024 imports, consisting of about 12-pecent of US imports from China.
Announcing that new electronics tariffs are "coming in a month or two" could be their way of saying, if you want to buy these imported products before they go up in price, now might be the time.