China asks Trump to ‘completely cancel’ reciprocal tariffs, calls exemption for electronics a ‘small step’

Beijing on Sunday (April 13) urged the Donald Trump administration to remove the sky-high 145 per cent tariffs on imports from China and asked it to return to the path of “mutual respect”.

“We urge the US to… take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and return to the right path of mutual respect”, China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

Reacting to Trump’s exemption for smartphones, laptops and other consumer electronics from his tariffs, China said it was a “small step” in correcting his mistake.

“China is now evaluating the impact,” a spokesperson of the ministry said.

Huge tariffs on China have already caused losses to American tech giants like Apple, which has lost approximately $640 billion in market value. After tariffs, the cost of an iPhone would have risen to a staggering $3,500 under some estimates.

According to Evercore ISI, Apple manufactures at least 80 per cent of its products in China. China builds 80 per cent of iPads and more than half of Mac computers produced.

Trump’s tariff exemption for consumer electronics

US Customs and Border Protection announced Saturday (April 12) that smartphones and consumer electronics won’t be subjected to President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

Additionally, items like laptops, semiconductors, solar cells, flat panel TV screens, flash drives, memory cards, and solid-state drives used for data storage are also excluded from the additional taxes. So, while many imports are getting hit with higher duties, these tech essentials have been spared—for now.

The tariff tit-for-tat between the US and China — with America’s 145 per cent wall of duty and China’s 125 per cent return fire — has left businesses caught in the crossfire, and they’re not thrilled about it.

Companies that once relied on relatively smooth trade flows are now sweating over future orders, wondering if their supply chains will snap under the pressure.

Beyond the shipping delays and high costs, there’s a deeper concern: whether the decades-old trade relationship between these two economic giants can survive this slugfest. Experts are warning that if the tension keeps climbing, what used to be a backbone of global commerce might soon look more like a fractured spine.

(With inputs from agencies)