By Adam Levine

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency announced good news for Apple, Nvidia, Dell, and others late Friday night. A new list of goods to be exempted from the latest round of tariffs on U.S. importers was released, and it includes smartphones, PCs, servers, and other technology goods, many of which are assembled in China.

This latest round of tariff rates is currently set at 125% for Chinese goods and a 10% tax on imports from other trading partners. China also had an additional 20% tax on its goods that began in March, bringing its total to 145%.

Importers of these electronics will no longer face the newest taxes, and it cuts the Chinese rate down to 20% for them. The exceptions cover $385 billion worth of 2024 imports, 12% of the total. It includes $100 billion from China, 23% of 2024 imports from there. For these electronics, the average tax rate went from 45% to 5% with this rule.

The biggest global exemption is the import category that includes PCs and servers, with $140 billion in 2024 imports, 26% of it from China. Circumstances may change again, but this benefits AI king Nvidia, server-makers like Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Super Micro, and PC makers like Dell and HP. The average tax rate went from 45% to 5% here, according to Barron's calculations.

The biggest newly exempt category for Chinese goods is smartphones, with $41 billion in 2024 U.S. imports, 81% of all smartphone imports. A 145% tax on that would be $60 billion, but even the new 20% tax is a hefty $8 billion.

Apple assembles devices mostly in China in addition to India and Vietnam. Should these rules remain in place, the biggest beneficiary would be the iPhone maker, but it will still be faced with a 20% tax on its imports from China. The average tariff rate on smartphone imports went from 119% to 16% in the new system, according to our calculations.

The exemptions also highlight the White House picking winners and losers in the nascent tariff war. For example, the apparel, footwear, and headgear industry will still be hit by 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, and 20% elsewhere. Its average tariff rate remains at 44%.

But in any case, it will ramp up the uncertainty that hangs over corporate investment decisions.

Write to Adam Levine at adam.levine@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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April 12, 2025 09:37 ET (13:37 GMT)

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