A temporary pause in US tariffs on electronics imported from China is giving the semiconductor sector a brief reprieve, according to Bank of America, even as the industry braces for new sector-specific trade measures. The US Customs and Border Protection announced late Friday that smartphones and PCs would be excluded from immediate tariff hikes, which had proposed rates as high as 145%.
Apple Inc. has avoided immediate fallout from new US-China tariffs, but future sector-specific duties could pose moderate earnings risk, Bank of America said Monday.
It's been another chaotic weekend when it comes to President Trump's tariff trade war. On Friday, it was announced that electronic devices like smartphones and computers would be exempt from the looming tariffs of up to 145%—music to tech investors' ears.
As Pres. Trump pulls back on his tariff policy, Apple (AAPL) is among the early stocks to pop higher. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms (META) faces antitrust headwinds as the FTC begins its trial with WhatsApp and Instagram's ownership on the line.
Shares of Apple jumped Monday as the Silicon Valley giant benefited from the White House's tariff exemptions on smartphone imports, remarkably almost entirely erasing Apple stock's sharp tariff losses—and the exemption boost is not just good news for Apple shareholders but for prospective iPhone buyers alike, as iPhone prices may not get a major hike as some analysts anticipated.
Apple Inc. has managed to dodge its biggest crisis since the pandemic—for the moment, at least.
With Trump exempting phones, computers, chips from new tariffs, buyers may now use the latest dip in Apple shares as a buying opportunity.
President Trump's tariff exemption for smartphones, computers etc. may not stick for others, but in our view will stick for Apple Inc. because Trump can't afford iPhones to be collateral damage in U.S.-China trade war. U.S. tariffs on China, at 145%, disproportionately harm U.S. companies more than China; the bulk of value from a $1,000 iPhone to U.S. semi companies. Keeping tariffs that include Apple would also give Chinese smartphone vendors a runway to eat up more of the global smartphone market, which Apple can't afford.
The feared $4,500 iPhone price was based on the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) smartphone being built outside China and with parts not made in China.
Apple (AAPL), Dell Technologies (DELL), and other tech stocks surged in premarket trading Monday, after President Donald Trump imposed a pause on import tariffs on many electronic goods.
In a chaotic weekend that left tech investors scrambling for clarity, the White House appeared to offer - and then swiftly blur - a reprieve from its latest round of tariffs. What began on Friday night with apparent exemptions for smartphones, semiconductors and tech components ended on Sunday with officials insisting those exemptions weren't exemptions after all, just tweaks to the way tariffs are categorised.
Weekend exemptions spared the iPhone titan, but Apple is now at the mercy of Trump.