Trump says there will be NO tariff exemptions in dramatic reversal that'll hit Americans hard

President Donald Trump on Sunday insisted there will be no exemptions in the tariffs after there was some confusion when it came to electronics.

'NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!' the president posted on Truth Social.

A notice released late on Friday suggested gadgets would avoid Trump's 125 percent import tax on Chinese goods and even his sweeping 10 percent global tariffs.

But his administration clarified on Sunday that electronics would be subject to other tariffs.

'There was no Tariff “exception” announced on Friday,' Trump continued in his post.

'These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff “bucket,”' he continued.

The president wrote: 'We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations.'

[My plan][I wrote and posted a similar plan back in 2016]

The total tariff shall be:
1. on key basic products [we could and should make],
a. initially 0%, and then increasing by 1% at the start of every IRS quarter month after 2026 to 20%, on
I. industrial level components,
which may creditable on a one-to-one basis after bona fide export
via any optional scheme the Secretary of Commerce may allow a bona fide exporter to participate in,
II. any drug for lawful retail sale & consumer use,
III. drug, chemical and plastic industrial inputs, other than refinery hydrocarbons and those for making fertilizer,
IV. aircraft grade aluminum alloys and automotive grade ferrous metal,
V. semiconductors,
VI. solar cells and panels,
2. 0%, on
a. other raw materials, including coffee beans, fertilizers and their precursors,
base metals, electricity, raw & refined hydrocarbon products,
when vended without resale or short leash supply restriction,
b. foodstuffs, when sourced from a country for which the Secretary of Agriculture justly holds in good standing
for lack of undue impediment on import of US agricultural products generally vendable in the USA.

The base tariff, on all imports not assigned a total tariff, shall be:
1. 20%, on items of a type that have been sold at retail that can be made and packaged by automated equipment,
2. 10%, on any other product,
3. 200%, on a service such as gambling or pornography historically banned by law, or
4. 10%, on any other service.

The base tariff for a particular import shall be:
1. increased 2% per dollar as estimated by the Secretary of Commerce,
on the industry wage shortfall of a key source country compared to the USA,
up to 20%, but levied only if the country is industrially advanced,
2. increased by the percentage of the latest 12-month US<->international commercial cash flow US shortfall,
excluding most raw material transactions,
as to be estimated by the Secretary of Commerce, up to
a. 10%, if the key source country is industrially advanced,
b. 5%, otherwise,
3. increased by the percentage of the latest 12-month US<->the key source country commercial cash flow US shortfall,
excluding most raw material transactions,
as to be estimated by the Secretary of Commerce, of up to
a. 10%, if the key source country is industrially advanced,
b. 5%, otherwise,
4. adjusted based on the latest 12-month US<->foreign exchange rate change,
as to be computed at least annually by the Secretary of Commerce, with
a. proportional addition by up to 5%, when unfavorable to the US dollar,
b. proportional reduction by up to 5%, when favorable to the US dollar,, but to not less than 10% tariff,
5. adjusted based on domestic producer profitability, by industry,
except when the import is an item to be worn by a person,
or contains intellectual property of key value significance, or is excluded by treaty or US law,
as shall be calculated by the Secretary of Commerce, with
I. a 10% addition, no domestic producer of product or service type,
II. addition of calculated percentage that is less than 10%,
III. reduction by calculated percentage that is less than 10%, but to not less than 10% tariff.

For tariff purposes, a country is to be considered industrially advanced if it:
1. exports vehicles sold in the USA, other than motorcycles, which can be driven on a federal interstate highway,
2. produces an aircraft, or more than 10% of an aircraft by value, when such aircraft is certified by the FAA,
3. enriches uranium,
4. produces weapons for export to the USA which had a listed import value in excess of $100 million
in a prior 12-month period less than 24 months past,
5. is considered as such by the Secretary of Commerce for reasonable cause.

There shall be no tariff on bartered items internal to a motor vehicle organization, bartered beverage exchange system, or other barter system approved for tariff exemption by and justly held in good standing with the Secretary of Commerce.

[Certain dollar amounts on apparel, electronic and stuff typically sold below any possible US production amount
should be tariff exempt, not never the whole item regardless of cost. We don’t need to be importing $1,000 cellphones that
could be made in the USA for far less.]

The Secretary of Commerce may by regulation provide tariff exemptions up to the following amounts:
1. $100 on a laptop or personal computer
2. $60 on a smartphone
3. 10 cents per square inch of LCD screen
4. $45 per hard disk drive
5. $1 per first GB of solid-state memory and 20 cents for each additional GB
6. $5 on a shirt, blouse or dress
7. $4 on a pair of pants or skirt
8. $1 on an undergarment
9. $10 on a suit
10. 10 cents per inch of sewing, up to $2 on shoes and any other worn garment including dolls clothing
11. such amounts on kitchen appliances that do not exceed
80% of values of competitively priced basic models as of June 1, 2023
12. such amounts on hand tools, powered and unpowered, that do not exceed
80% of values of competitively priced basic models as of June 1, 2023.

The Secretary of Commerce or any federal judge shall refuse admission to the US to products whose ability to be supplied to the US market might be the result of a coercive technology transfer agreement, patent infringement or technology or trade secret theft.

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