US Commerce Secretary: ‘Duty exemption for smartphones and PCs is temporary’

Milan, 13 Apr (LaPresse) – US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the Trump administration's decision on Friday night to exempt a range of electronic devices, including smartphones and PCs, from duties introduced earlier this month is temporary. ‘All of these products will fall under the semiconductor category and will have a specific customs tariff to ensure that they are relocated,’ Lutnick said in an interview with Abc, ’we need semiconductors, chips: we need to have them manufactured in America. We cannot depend on South-East Asia for everything that works for us'. ‘So what President Donald Trump is doing is saying they're exempt from reciprocal duties, but they're included in the semiconductor duties, which will probably come in a month or two,’ Lutnick added.