Previously, AP reported that the US President said Wednesday that he will impose a 100% tariff on computer chips, raising the spectre of higher prices for electronics, autos, household appliances and other essential products dependent on the processors powering the digital age.
“We’ll be putting a tariff of approximately 100% on chips and semiconductors,” Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook. “But if you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge.”The announcement came more than three months after Trump temporarily exempted most electronics from his administration’s most onerous tariffs.
The Republican president said companies that make computer chips in the US would be spared the import tax. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortage of computer chips increased the price of autos and contributed to higher inflation.
Investors seemed to interpret the potential tariff exemptions as a positive for Apple and other major tech companies that have been making huge financial commitments to manufacture more chips and other components in the US.
Read Also: India calls US tariffs as ‘unfair, unjustified, unreasonable’; vows to protect national interest
(With Inputs from AFP and AP)
