The Trump administration says tariffs on smartphones, semiconductors and other electronic devices will be reinstated in one to two months, and that the semiconductor tariffs will be separate from the reciprocal tariffs.

The Trump administration has announced that it will exclude electronic devices such as smartphones, PCs, and semiconductors from the bilateral tariffs . However, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said that tariffs on semiconductors will be reinstated within the next month or two.

Video Semiconductors from China will face a 'special-focus type of tariff': Lutnick - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/1-1-commerce-secretary-howard-lutnick-120763933

Smartphone tariffs are coming back in 'a month or two,' says Trump admin | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/news/647811/smartphone-laptop-chips-tariffs-returning-semiconductor-sector-tariffs

On April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a set of 'reciprocal tariffs' that would impose a uniform 10% basic tariff on all imports and additional tariff rates on a country/region basis.

President Trump excludes electronic devices such as smartphones, PCs, and semiconductors from reciprocal tariffs - GIGAZINE

The Trump administration then announced that it would suspend country-specific tariff increases for 90 days for countries that did not retaliate against the reciprocal tariffs. In addition, China has raised its tariffs as a retaliatory measure against the United States, so the United States has raised its tariffs on China to 145% (basic tariff 20% + 125% tariff).

President Trump suspends reciprocal tariffs with more than 75 countries excluding China, NVIDIA shares rise 19% and IT industry stock prices rise across the board - GIGAZINE

On April 11, 2025, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a list of product categories that will be exempt from reciprocal tariffs, and announced that electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, hard disks, and semiconductors will be exempt from reciprocal tariffs. Some technology industry experts have said that this is a 'dream scenario for technology investors.'

President Trump excludes electronic devices such as smartphones, PCs, and semiconductors from reciprocal tariffs - GIGAZINE

However, appearing on ABC News' ' This Week, ' broadcast on the morning of April 13, 2025 local time, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that tariffs on electronics would 'be reinstated within the next month or two.'

According to Secretary of Commerce Lutnick, the electronics tariff exemption is 'not some sort of permanent exemption,' and that the Trump administration will impose 'specially focused tariffs' at a later date that will apply to the entire semiconductor industry, similar to the new auto tariffs .

When asked if the new tariffs would include products like iPhones, Secretary of Commerce Lutnick replied, 'Yes, they do.' He went on to explain the reason for the new tariffs: 'The purpose is to encourage those products to come back to the United States and to be manufactured in the United States.'

Furthermore, on April 8, 2025, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt stated, 'American products, including the iPhone, can be made in America ,' emphasizing that American products can be produced within the United States.

However, some experts say it is impossible to produce the iPhone in the United States.

What are the challenges of producing a 'Made in America' iPhone? - GIGAZINE

'My view is that American products can be manufactured in the United States,' said Secretary of Commerce Lutnick. 'Panasonic, the battery manufacturer, is a Japanese company. But they've built an incredible factory in Kansas that's about to open. Construction began during the first Trump administration, and it's nearing completion now,' he said, citing an example of a product being produced in the United States that is actually sold in the United States.

President Trump is already preparing to instruct the Commerce Department to launch an investigation into new tariffs on semiconductor technology, a White House official told POLITICO.

Commerce to launch Section 232 semiconductor probe - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/13/commerce-launch-section-232-semiconductor-probe-00287938

The example Secretary of Commerce Lutnick cited was Panasonic's lithium-ion battery factory for electric vehicles (EVs) , which it announced would begin construction in November 2022.