Donald Trump insists there will be NO tariff exemptions in dramatic u-turn

As the aftermath of tariff spree continues to be felt around the globe, the US leader insisted on Sunday that there would be no exemptions from his tariffs after hopes were raised on Friday when it comes to electronic imports.

A notice shared on Friday evening and even his global 10% tariff - however, as we have now learned, this is not the case after all.

Posting on Truth Social, the President wrote: “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 which, by far, treats us the worst!”

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“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 then added: “We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations.”

In a direct dig at rival nation China, Trump also declared that the US would not be “held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China.” He then went on to argue that Beijing was behind an escalating trade war with the US and would do “everything within its power to disrespect the American People.”

Tensions between both nations have been steadily worsening over the past week, after China hiked it’s levies on which had effectively slapped a 145% tariff on them.

After a rocky few days, there did appear to be a glimmer of hope on Friday, when a Trump appeared to spare electronics like iPhones and laptops from his tariffs, but that prospect was short-lived, with Commerce Secretary Howar Lutnick also confirming on Sunday that those products will still be included in tariffs after all.

In an interview with ABC News, Lutnick explained that those items would still be included in a set of tariffs due to be rolled out in one to two months time.

He said: “Well remember those products are going to be part of the semiconductor sectoral tariffs which are coming.”He said like the separate pharmaceutical and auto tariffs, electronics will face levies as part of the semiconductor tariffs.

“They're going to have a special focused type of tariff to make sure that those products get reshored” Lutnick explained.

He argued that such products, which are commonly made in China, need to be made in America, so at the moment electronics are exempt from the current reciprocal tariffs but wouldn’t be exempt from appearing in a different set of looming tariffs aimed at bringing more manufacturing to the US.

Yet even if Trump is able to bring manufacturing to the US, the process will hardly be instant, with experts fearing it would take years to reach the kind of capacity needed to produce the amount of electronics required each year.

Apple for example, would be one of the companies hit by any tariffs, as more than 80 per cent of all their products are made in China, with the company already losing a whopping $640 billion in the days since the tariff announcement earlier this month.

There are also no immediate plans to try and deescalate the situation either, as U.S. President and Chinese President Xi Jinping "don't have any plans" to speak, even as the tariff war between the two countries escalates in real time.