Trump insists on no exemptions in tariff policy - 'nobody is getting off the hook'

In the wake of tariff spree, the US leader confirmed on Sunday that there would be no exceptions to his tariffs, dashing hopes raised on Friday regarding electronic imports. A notice circulated on Friday evening hinted that from might escape his 125% import tax and even his global 10% tariff.

However, this has now been proven false.

On Truth Social, the President posted: "NOBODY is getting "off the hook" for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!".

"There was no Tariff "exception" announced on Friday," Trump continued in his post. "These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff "bucket.""

He further stated: "We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations."

Trump also took a swipe at China, stating that the US would not be "held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China."

He then claimed that Beijing was fuelling a trade war with the US and would do "everything within its power to disrespect the American People."

The relationship between the two nations has been increasingly strained over the past week, following China's decision to increase its tariffs on imported goods to 125% in response to Trump's tariffs, which effectively imposed a 145% tariff on them, reports

Despite a turbulent few days, there seemed to be a ray of hope on Friday when it appeared that Trump would exempt electronics such as iPhones and laptops from his tariffs. However, this hope was short-lived, with Commerce Secretary Howar Lutnick confirming on Sunday that these products will still be included in the tariffs after all.

In a conversation with ABC News, Lutnick clarified that these items would still be part of a set of tariffs scheduled to be implemented in one to two months' time.

He stated: "Well remember those products are going to be part of the semiconductor sectoral tariffs which are coming."

He added that like the separate pharmaceutical and auto tariffs, electronics will also face levies as part of the semiconductor tariffs.

"They're going to have a special focused type of tariff to make sure that those products get reshored" Lutnick explained.

He argued that such products, which are typically manufactured in China, need to be produced in America. Therefore, while electronics are currently exempt from the existing reciprocal tariffs, they won't be exempt from a different set of impending tariffs aimed at increasing manufacturing in the US.

Experts caution that Trump's efforts to revitalise domestic manufacturing in the US may be a drawn-out affair, as building the necessary capability for electronic production would take years. which manufactures over 80 per cent of its products in China, could be significantly affected by tariffs; the tech giant has already faced staggering losses of $640 billion since the announcement of new levies this month.

With tensions mounting in the tariff battle, there appears to be no immediate initiative for a peaceful resolution, given that U.S. President Donald Trump and "don't have any plans" for discussion at present.