President Donald Trump's tariff policy has undergone several developments since 'Liberation Day'.
The most recent of the changes saw confusion reign about how the US would treat imports of consumer electronics like smartphones.
It came after Mr Trump announced a 90-day pause on so-called "reciprocal tariffs", reducing the higher-rate tariffs to 10 per cent for every trading partner but China.
Here's how the US's tariff policy evolved over the last four days.
Some consumer electronics exempted
On Friday, the Trump administration walked back the tariffs that would have otherwise been imposed on electronics imported into the US, signalling some relief from trade wars that have particularly escalated with China.
A notice issued by the US Customs and Border Protection office listed more than 20 consumer electronic product categories that would be exempted from tariffs.
Some of those included:
- Computers
- Laptops
- Disc drives
- Smartphones
- Memory cards
- Semiconductors (chips)
- Modems
- Routers
This meant they would not be subject to the tariff on Chinese imports of 145 per cent.
The action also exempted the specified electronics from Mr Trump's 10 per cent "baseline" tariffs on goods from most countries other than China, easing import costs for semiconductors from Taiwan and Apple iPhones produced in India.
The exemptions were backdated to April 5, when the "Liberation Day" tariffs had taken effect.
The White House suggested the exemptions had been granted ensure companies had more time to move production to the US — however Mr Trump's own statements would soon raise questions about how long they would be in place.
"President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time.
Exemptions appear to be short-lived
Days after exempting the consumer electronics categories from tariffs, the Trump administration changed tune, announcing this would not be the case.
Top officials insisted that any tariff exemptions Chinese electronics would benefit from were only temporary.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the goods would face forthcoming levies that were being prepared.
"They're exempt from the reciprocal tariffs but they're included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two," Mr Lutnick told US media.
But this was met with confusion as hours after Mr Lutnick's comments, Mr Trump said there was never any exemption.
Instead, he said that they were "just moving to a different tariff bucket".
Trump added:
"NOBODY is getting off the hook.
"We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations."
He said he would provide an update on Monday (local time) about semiconductor duties.
Sector-specific semiconductor levies would follow the Trump administration's similar measures for the steel, aluminium and automobile industries announced in recent weeks.
What is a semiconductor?
Commonly known as chips, semiconductors are the foundation for most electronic devices.
They're found in your computer, cell phone, watch, car and even in LED lights.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) provides roughly half of the world's supply.
Among its customers are tech giants Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft.
When are the chip tariffs set to start?
We don't know the exact timing yet.
Aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump said the "tariffs will be in place in the not too distant future".
Asked what the rate for semiconductors would be, he said: "I'm going to be announcing it over the next week", adding that there would be flexibility for some companies.
Will smartphones cost more because of the tariffs?
Economists have warned that tariffs impacting consumer technology could mean higher prices for smartphones, computers and other gadgets.
Analysts at investment bank UBS warned that the price of a China-made iPhone 16 Pro Max (256Gb storage) could rise by 79 per cent from $1,199 to about $2,150.
This figure is based on a total tariff of 145 per cent like the one imposed on Chinese imports that have not been exempted.
Apple recently chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the US from India, after it stepped up production there in an effort to beat Trump's initial tariffs, Reuters reported.
Smartphones were the top US import from China in 2024, totalling $41.7 billion, while Chinese-built laptops were second, at $33.1 billion, according to US Census Bureau data.
One electronics company, Sony, has already announced that it is increasing the price of its flagship games console, the PlayStation 5, by about 10 per cent in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
The company cited "a challenging economic environment" as the reason behind the hike.
In Australia, the new price will increase to $749 from $649.
It did not announce price rises in the US.
Dan Ives, analyst at US financial firm Wedbush Securities, said if Apple were to begin assembling iPhones in the US, a Chinese or Indian-made device that previously sold for $1,000 would cost more than $3,000.
But analysts believe Apple is in a more fortunate position than others, having reaped more money from its products than it has spent on making them.
"As a company with lucrative margins on its devices, Apple can absorb some of the tariff-induced cost increases without significant financial impact, at least in the short term," said Dipanjan Chatterjee, Forrester principal analyst.
Apple has not revealed whether they plan to pass on the costs of any tariffs onto consumers in the US.
But Mr Ives said shifting parts of its supply chain from cheaper manufacturing hubs in Asia to the US would take a lot of time and money.
"The concept of making iPhones in the US is a non-starter," he said.
"The reality is it would take 3 years and $30 billion dollars in our estimation to move even 10 per cent of its supply chain from Asia to the US with major disruption in the process."
