On Friday evening, President Trump exempted certain semiconductor and electronics products from the reciprocal tariffs, meaning that some electronics produced in China could be imported with just the IEEPA Fentanyl tariff applicable at 20%.
Over the weekend, additional details came out communicating a Section 232 study would be conducted on semiconductors and other electronics. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the president to restrict the import of certain products after an investigation has concluded and should the results of that investigation deem the products to be critical to US national security.
Steel and Aluminum products are affected by a 25% tariff under Section 232, which perhaps offers an indication for where tariffs on certain semiconductors and electronics imports might land.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick commented that the current tariff exemptions for electronics are only temporary – confirming that a semiconductor tariff will be evaluated and implemented “in a month or two.”
We recently held a webinar focused on Steel and Aluminum but the content is relevant here too. If you haven’t yet seen it, you can review the webinar and the slides we presented here.
We will share additional updates as we get them. In the meantime, if you have questions about your specific products, please contact us at Tariff.Support@albawheelsup.com.
