Trump Admin Creates Electronics Exemption to 145% Chinese Tariffs

Americans will have to wait a little longer before it assembles an “army of millions and millions of human beings” to screw in little screws to make iPhones. That’s because the US’ 145% tariff on Chinese goods has a glaring new exemption — electronics.

• The exemption will prevent consumer electronics companies like Apple ($AAPL) from bearing the weight of the US-China trade war — its stock rallied 2.2% on Monday.
• Other hardware manufacturers like DellDELL
  , Western DigitalWDC
  , and Texas InstrumentsTXN
  rallied on the news, benefiting from the broad exemptions.

But it’s all temporary: Although some panicky consumers might feel buyer’s remorse, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says that the pause is temporary — meaning that the return of sky-high tariffs on Chinese tech imports could only be a matter of time. And with the US and China not cooperating on trade talks in any form, it might be sooner rather than later as China responded to US pressure this weekend by suspending rare earth and critical mineral exports to the States.