The topic of the month has been Tariffs. President Trump first announced them on April 2, in what he dubbed “Liberation Day”. Since then, the Trump Administration has been all over the place with these Tariffs, including increasing them several times on China since then.
Over the weekend, President Trump announced that electronics would be exempt from these Tariffs. Which he then changed his mind regarding, on Sunday. He posted on his social network that the administration is looking at the entire supply chain, and will most likely tariff the chipsets used in many electronics. Of course, that forced his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick to answer some difficult questions.
Lutnick said on Sunday that the smartphones and other electronics will be included in future semiconductor tariffs. Keep in mind that these electronics are still subject to the blanket 20% tariffs for everything being imported into the US. Lutnick also said that these exemptions are temporary. And that the exemptions are not free from new levies imposed by the Trump Administration.
Semiconductor and Pharmaceutical tariffs could begin in a month or two
After announcing all of these tariffs, Trump also mentioned later on that there would be tariffs on pharmaceuticals coming too. Lutnick explained in an interview on Sunday that the products are exempt from reciprocal tariffs, but that the sector tariffs are a separate issue, which “are not available to be negotiated away by countries.”
Lutnick is playing the national security card for these types of tariffs.
The Trump Administration is also looking to tariff pharmaceuticals. While many Senators are looking to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, Trump wants to make them even more expensive.
2025-04-14 15:04:38