Germany: Trump still insists that manufacturers such as Apple and Nvidia relocate their production lines to the United States as soon as possible.

Last week, the U.S. government surprisingly announced that some electronic products from China and other countries would not be subject to high tariffs, which temporarily relieved companies, but subsequently, Trump and several U.S. officials stated that this was only temporary, and that national security investigations regarding semiconductors would follow.

On Sunday, April 13, U.S. President Trump said that the tariff exemption for consumer electronics such as smartphones and computers was only temporary. "No one can escape... especially China," Trump posted on the "Truth Social" platform. "In the upcoming national security tariff investigation, we will review semiconductors and the entire electronics supply chain." The Associated Press, Bloomberg, and other media interpreted that Trump's remarks downplayed the earlier tariff exemption measures by the U.S. government.

According to Trump's latest statement, the U.S. will conduct a national security investigation into the semiconductor industry, and the temporarily exempted electronic products will be taxed under other tariff categories in the future.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo also said on the 13th that key technology products from China will face "special attention type" new tariffs within "the next one or two months," and these will not be included in the current "reciprocal tariff" category.

"What he (Trump) means is that these products are exempt from reciprocal tariffs but will be included in the semiconductor tariffs... These products involve national security and must be manufactured in the U.S.," Raimondo explained in an interview with ABC.

White House trade advisor Navarro told NBC that the U.S. has extended a negotiation invitation to China; meanwhile, U.S. Trade Representative Greer told CBS that Trump currently has no plans to discuss tariffs with China's leader.

Previously, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that 20 types of products, including smartphones, laptops, hard drives, and storage chips, would not be affected by the 125% additional import tariff. This exemption measure is retroactive to April 5, 2025.

Reuters and AFP analysis earlier pointed out that this measure would clearly benefit multinational companies like Apple and Dell, as most of their products and components are manufactured mainly in Asia, particularly China.

This exemption measure not only benefits U.S. companies but also has a positive impact on some foreign high-tech equipment suppliers. For example, ASML of the Netherlands and Tokyo Electron of Japan can continue to smoothly export to the U.S. due to the exemption. These devices are large in size and high in value, and only a few companies globally can provide them. Meanwhile, chip manufacturers such as Intel and TSMC are actively expanding their production in the U.S. homeland.

A White House spokesperson said that Trump still insists that manufacturers such as Apple and Nvidia move their production lines back to the U.S. as soon as possible. He believes that the U.S. should not rely on China in critical areas such as semiconductors, smartphones, and laptops. However, industry experts generally believe that given the severe shortages in component supply chains and specialized labor in the U.S., achieving the goal of returning manufacturing in the short term is almost impossible.

Source: DW

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829359403493387/

Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's views.