Separate tariffs coming on smartphones, chips imports: US Commerce Secretary

Washington, April 13 (IANS) A day after the US exempted electronics imports, including semiconductors, from reciprocal tariffs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday the country is set to launch "separate tariffs" for imports of smartphones, computers, semiconductors, and other components in the next one to two months.

Lutnick also highlighted the need to build chips and flat-panel televisions in the US, compared to relying on imports from South Asian nations.

Speaking to ABC News, the Commerce Secretary said all those products are going to come under semiconductors, and they're going to have a special focus type of tariff to make sure that those products get reshored.

"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. We can't be reliant on Southeast Asia for all the things that operate for us," he was quoted as saying in the report.

The US Commerce Secretary highlighted that smartphone and computer imports are removed from the reciprocal tariff list but will now be added to the semiconductor tariffs within the next two months.

“What President Donald Trump is doing is that he's saying they're exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but they're included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two. So, these are coming soon,” he told the news portal.

On Saturday, the US government announced it would exempt smartphones and computers imported into the country from the latest tariffs.

According to a US Customs and Border Protection notice, the exemption applies to products entering the US or removed from warehouses as early as April 5.

The exemptions also include other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells, and memory cards.

—IANS

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