China has quietly exempted some semiconductor-related items from retaliatory tariffs
The so-called 'Trump tariffs' have led to a tit-for-tat battle between the United States and China, with the United States imposing a 145% tariff on Chinese imports and China imposing a 125% tariff on American imports. However, it has been revealed that China has secretly excluded eight tariff-coded items, including memory chips, from the tariffs.
Some US-made semiconductors quietly exempted from China tariffs - The Washington Post
China said to waive retaliatory tariffs on some US chip imports in sign of trade war thaw | South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3307881/china-said-waive-retaliatory-tariffs-some-us-chip-imports-sign-trade-war-thaw
China reportedly waived tariffs on some US chip imports — duties paid are eligible for refunds | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/china-reportedly-waives-tariffs-on-some-us-chip-imports-duties-paid-are-eligible-for-refunds
The Trump administration in the United States announced the introduction of reciprocal tariffs in April 2025. It then raised the additional tariffs on China, which took retaliatory measures, to a total of 125%. When China raised its tariffs to 125% as a further countermeasure, the United States raised its tariffs to 145%.
President Trump suspends reciprocal tariffs with more than 75 countries excluding China, NVIDIA shares rise 19% and IT industry stock prices rise across the board - GIGAZINE
However, the tariffs are tough even for American companies, with electronics-related items temporarily excluded.
Meanwhile, China has also changed its focus on where the materials are manufactured for semiconductors, with AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Intel and other companies that outsource manufacturing to Taiwanese companies such as TSMC being exempt from tariffs.
In addition to these measures, the Chinese government is also exempting tariff codes related to eight integrated circuits, including memory chips, from the scope of retaliatory tariffs, according to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP).
However, this has not been officially announced by the authorities, but was made clear when the customs authorities notified Chinese companies that imported products subject to the relevant tariffs between Thursday, April 10 and Thursday, April 24, 2025, that they would be eligible for a refund.
The China Customs Authority did not respond to inquiries from SCMP, and the China Semiconductor Industry Association did not respond to a request for comment.
This incident was first reported by the Chinese business magazine Caijing , but the magazine has since deleted the article and the WeChat post. The reason for the deletion has not been made clear.
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