UPdate:Industry News Alert: 2025 China-US Tariff Updates

President Donald Trump, returning to the capital aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening after a weekend in Florida, dismissed reports of inconsistent messaging on tariffs, asserting there should be “no ambiguity” in his administration’s stance.

In remarks to reporters, Trump confirmed that semiconductor tariffs would be implemented “in the near future,” with specific rates to be announced “this week” . He emphasized that no exemptions would apply to electronics tariffs and vowed to clarify the policy on Monday.

The statement follows confusion after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced late Friday that certain smartphones, laptops, chips, and other electronics would temporarily escape tariffs. However, senior White House economic advisers clarified during Sunday talk shows that tariffs targeting electronics would take effect within the next 4–8 weeks.

Trump directly addressed the controversy in a Sunday afternoon social media post: “No tariff ‘exemptions’ were announced on Friday. Semiconductor tariffs will simply shift to a different tariff ‘bucket’—details coming this week” .

The administration’s evolving rhetoric highlights internal tensions over balancing trade policy objectives with industry concerns. Markets await Monday’s formal clarification.

CSMS # 64724565 - UPDATED GUIDANCE – Reciprocal Tariff Exclusion for Specified Products; April 5, 2025 Effective Date

U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent this bulletin at 04/11/2025 10:36 PM EDT

CSMS # 64724565 - UPDATED GUIDANCE – Reciprocal Tariff Exclusion for Specified Products; April 5, 2025 Effective Date

The purpose of this message is to provide further guidance on the additional duties due on imported merchandise which were imposed by Executive Order 14257, issued April 2, 2025, and published in the Federal Register Notice, “Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits,” 90 FR 15041 (Apr. 7, 2025), as amended by Executive Order 14259, issued on April 8, 2025, “Amendment to Reciprocal Tariffs and Updated Duties as Applied to Low-Value Imports from the People’s Republic of China,” and as further amended by the Executive Order dated April 9, 2025, “Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Trading Partner Retaliation and Alignment.”

In accordance with the April 11, 2025 Presidential Memorandum “Clarification of Exceptions Under Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, as amended” (the Memorandum), products properly classified in the headings and subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) listed in the Memorandum, are reproduced below. All products that are properly classified in these listed provisions will be excluded from the reciprocal tariffs imposed under Executive Order 14257, as amended, pursuant to Section 3(b)(iv) of that Order, effective for merchandise entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01AM Eastern Daylight Time on April 5, 2025:

8471

8473.30

8486

8517.13.00

8517.62.00

8523.51.00

8524

8528.52.00

8541.10.00

8541.21.00

8541.29.00

8541.30.00

8541.49.10

8541.49.70

8541.49.80

8541.49.95

8541.51.00

8541.59.00

8541.90.00

8542

For products classified in the above headings and subheadings, importers should report the secondary classification under heading 9903.01.32 to declare the exception from the reciprocal tariff provided in heading 9903.01.25, or in headings 9903.01.43 – 9903.01.62 or 9903.01.64 – 9903.01.76 on April 9, 2025, or in heading 9903.01.63 since April 9, 2025.

For products covered by the above HTSUS provisions entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after April 5, 2025, filers should take action to correct entries as necessary to reflect the exception under heading 9903.01.32, as soon as possible within 10 days of the cargo’s release from CBP custody. Importers may request a refund by filing a post summary correction for unliquidated entries, or by filing a protest for entries that have liquidated but where the liquidation is not final because the protest period has not expired.