4/13/2025–|Last update: 13/4/202505:56 PM (Mecca time)
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said today, Sunday, that Beijing is evaluating the impact of the US administration’s decision to grant exceptions to electronic devices, most of which come from China from customs duties, and described the decision as just a “small step” to correct Washington’s “wrong” practices.
The administration of US President Donald Trump decided to grant exceptions from the customs duties of smartphones, computers and other electronics imports, most of which come from China, which gave a great opportunity for technology companies such as Apple that depend on imported products.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that the US administration’s decision “a small step from the United States to correct its wrong exercise of imposing unilateral anti -customs duties.”
The ministry said, in a statement, “The person who linked the bell on the neck of the tiger is the one who can only dismantle it,” and urged the United States to take a big step in correcting what it described as its mistakes and canceling the customs duties completely.
In a notice addressed to the shipping companies, the American Customs and Protection Authority published a list of customs codes that will be exempt from fees. And these exceptions enter into force retroactively from April 5.
In the list, the authority included about 20 products, including all computers, laptops, tablets and automatic data processing devices. It also included semiconductors, equipment, memory chips and flat displays.
The notice did not include an explanation for the Trump administration step, but the exception that was issued late on Friday provides a welcoming mitigation by major American technology companies, including Apple, Dell and many other importers.
Trump’s move also excludes the aforementioned electronics from the 10% basic customs duties on goods from most countries except China, which reduces the costs of importing semiconductors from Taiwan and iPhone phones produced by Apple in India.
Earlier, a memorandum of US customs circles said that these exemptions are primarily concerned with electronic products imported from China, despite the Trump administration earlier in customs duties by 145% on Chinese imports.
According to Bloomberg, this step shows a clear attempt by the American administration to reduce the negative impact of customs definitions on the consumer electronics market, especially in light of the difficulty of transporting the production lines of those commodities into the United States, a process that may take several years.
