The United States government officially excluded semiconductors from the new reciprocal tariffs imposed under the national emergency declared due to the high trade deficit. Furthermore, it ordered the reimbursement of duties already collected on these imports since April 5, 2025.
The measure, signed by senior Cabinet officials—including the Secretaries of the Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and key presidential advisors—formalizes an update to the tariff system. This way, strategic technology products such as chips, memory, microprocessors, and their manufacturing equipment are expressly excluded from the additional tariffs established by Executive Order 14257 and its accompanying provisions.
In detail, the provision instructs a specific modification to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), incorporating in Note 2 (subchapter III of chapter 99) the tariff codes linked to products defined as “semiconductors”. Among them, the following stand out: headings 8471, 8486, 8542 and various subheadings of chapter 85, ranging from integrated circuits to telecommunications components and storage systems.
"The measure is effective retroactively from 00:01 a.m. on April 5, 2025. Duties collected since then on excepted products must be reimbursed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in accordance with its normal procedures.
Firmness and pragmatism
This exception aims to reduce the negative impact on the U.S. technology industry, which is highly dependent on imported inputs, and comes amid growing trade tensions with countries like China.
With this adjustment, the White House seeks to send a dual message: to maintain a firm stance against trade practices considered unfair, but also to protect key sectors of its economy from the risk of shortages or rising prices for critical components.
For further details, please refer to the Executive Order dated April 11, 2025: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/clarification-of-exceptions-under-executive-order-14257-of-april-2-2025-as-amended/
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