WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has exempted smartphones and computers from reciprocal tariffs, including the 125% levies imposed on Chinese imports.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol published a notice late on Friday explaining the goods would be excluded from Trump’s 10% global tariff on most countries and the much larger Chinese import tax.
The move comes after concerns from U.S. tech companies that the price of gadgets could skyrocket, as many of them are made in China.
The exemptions also include other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells and memory cards.
It was not clear whether technology imports from China would still be hit by a 20% tariff that was not part of the reciprocal tariffs announced on 2 April. 
Some estimates suggested iPhone prices and other electronic goods in the U.S. would have gone up three times if the costs of the tariffs had been passed on to consumers.
Trump’s move takes off “a huge black cloud overhang for now over the tech sector and the pressure facing U.S. Big Tech”, said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a research note, according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. is a major market for iPhones, while Apple accounted for more than half of its smartphones sales last year, according to Counterpoint Research.