taxnews.ey.comPrint

14 April 2025

US exempts certain electronic products from tariffs under President Trump's Reciprocal Tariff Policy

  • President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum on 11 April 2025 that exempts specific electronic goods from his Reciprocal Tariff Policy, which was imposed under an earlier Executive Order.
  • The Presidential Memorandum outlines a range of exempted products, such as automatic data processing machines, smartphones, solid-state storage devices, and various semiconductor components, and provides for refunds on duties collected for these items after 5 April 2025.
 

Late on 11 April 2025, President Donald Trump published a Presidential Memorandum exempting certain electronic goods from his Reciprocal Tariff Policy (the additional tariffs) explained in Executive Order 14257, issued on 2 April 2025.

Tariffs imposed under a 1 February 2025 Executive Order, the International Emergency Economic Power Act (IEEPA), still apply to these electronic goods. The IEEPA tariffs include 20% tariffs on Chinese imports and 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods that do not qualify under the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, (See EY Global Tax Alert, United States issues Executive Orders imposing additional tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, dated 3 February 2025.)

The electronic goods described in the 11 April Presidential Memorandum are only exempted from the additional tariffs on imports from United States (US) trading partners. The US Administration has suggested that the exemption is temporary.

Background

On 2 April 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14257, which imposes a 10% baseline tariff on imports from all US trading partners, effective on 5 April 2025, and specific tariffs on various countries, effective 9 April 2025. On 9 April 2025, President Trump issued another Executive Order increasing the tariff rates for Chinese-origin products to 125%. Additionally, the Executive Order temporarily suspended the application of individual ad valorem duties for other US trading partners, imposing a uniform additional duty of 10% on their imports for 90 days, effective 10 April 2025.

Products exempted from additional tariffs

The 11 April Presidential Memorandum lists the products exempted from the additional tariffs, as of 12:01 a.m. EDT on 5 April 2025. Any duties collected on those products after that date will be refunded under the standard procedures established by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Products exempted from additional tariffs according to the 11 April Presidential Memorandum include the following, as described in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS):

HTSUS heading/subheading

Description

8471

Automatic data processing machines and [their] units; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing [that] data

8473.3

Parts and accessories of the machines [in] heading 8471

8486

Machines and apparatus[es] used solely or principally for the manufacture of semiconductor boules or wafers, semiconductor devices, electronic integrated circuits or flat panel displays; machines and apparatus[es] for the manufacture or repair of masks and reticles, assembling [of] semiconductor devices or electronic integrated circuits, [and] lifting, handling, loading or unloading of boules, wafers, semiconductor devices, electronic integrated circuits and flat panel displays; parts and accessories

8517.13.00

Smartphones

8517.62.00

Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission, or regeneration of voice, images or other data, including switching and routing apparatus

8523.51.00

Solid-state non-volatile storage devices

8524

Flat panel display modules, whether or not incorporating touch-sensitive screens

8528.52.00

Monitors capable of directly connecting to and designed for use with an automatic data-processing machine [in] heading 8471

8541.10.00

Diodes, other than photosensitive or light-emitting diodes (LED)

8541.21.00

Transistors, other than photosensitive transistors, with a dissipation rate of less than 1 W

8541.29.00

Transistors, other than photosensitive transistors and transistors with a dissipation rate of less than 1 W

8541.30.00

Thyristors, diacs and triacs, other than photosensitive devices

8541.49.10

Certain diodes under photovoltaic cells assembled in modules or made up into panels

8541.49.70

Transistors under photovoltaic cells assembled in modules or made up into panels

8541.49.80

Optical coupled isolators under photovoltaic cells assembled in modules or made up into panels

8541.49.95

Other certain types [of] photovoltaic cells assembled in modules or made up into panels

8541.51.00

Semiconductor-based transducers

8541.59.00

Other semiconductor devices

8541.90.00

Parts of semiconductor devices (for example, diodes, transistors, semiconductor-based transducers); photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light-emitting diodes (LED), whether or not assembled with other LED; mounted piezo-electric crystals

8542

Electronic integrated circuits and parts

Actions for businesses to consider

Companies that import into the US should immediately identify the potential impact of these measures and may want to consider some of the following actions, provided they align with business objectives:

  • Conduct a duty-impact analysis to evaluate the implications of exempting specific products from additional duties.
  • Review import data to determine whether previously imported goods qualify for the exemptions and potential refunds.
  • Request refunds for goods that qualify for exemption and were imported after 12:01 a.m. EDT on 5 April 2025, using the standard procedures established by CBP (e.g., Post Summary Correction).
  • Develop compliance processes and procedures that demonstrate reasonable care, particularly around product classification for these exempt products.
  • Keep up with the latest news and developments in trade policies and stay adaptable to quickly respond to changes in trade regulations and tariff rates.
* * * * * * * * * *
Contact Information

For additional information concerning this Alert, please contact:

Ernst & Young LLP (United States), Global Trade

Ernst & Young LLP (United States), WCEY

Published by NTD’s Tax Technical Knowledge Services group; Carolyn Wright, legal editor

Document ID: 2025-0893

 

The information contained herein is general in nature and is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal, accounting or tax advice or opinion provided by Ernst & Young LLP to the reader. The reader also is cautioned that this material may not be applicable to, or suitable for, the reader's specific circumstances or needs, and may require consideration of non-tax and other tax factors if any action is to be contemplated. The reader should contact his or her Ernst & Young LLP or other tax professional prior to taking any action based upon this information. Ernst & Young LLP assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in tax laws or other factors that could affect the information contained herein.

 

Copyright © 1996 – 2025, Ernst & Young LLP

 

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, retransmitted or otherwise redistributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including by photocopying, facsimile transmission, recording, rekeying, or using any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from Ernst & Young LLP.

 

EY US Tax News Update Master Agreement | EY Privacy Statement