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Agence France-Presse

US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that no country would be getting “off the hook” on tariffs, as his administration suggested exemptions seen as favouring China would be short-lived.
The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a fast-moving, high-stakes game of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that particularly targeted Chinese imports.
Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145 per cent, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125 per cent band on US imports.
The US side had appeared to dial down the pressure slightly on Friday, listing tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronic products for which China is a major source.


Trump and some of his top aides said on Sunday that the exemptions had been misconstrued and would only be temporary as his team pursued fresh tariffs against many items on the list.
“NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’ … especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
Earlier, Beijing’s Commerce Ministry had said Friday’s move only “represents a small step” and insisted that the Trump administration should “completely cancel” the whole tariff strategy.
The new exemptions will benefit US tech companies like Nvidia and Dell as well as Apple, which makes iPhones and other premium products in China.

The relief could, however, be short-lived with some of the exempted consumer electronics targeted for coming sector-specific tariffs on goods deemed key to US national defence networks.
“We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations,” said Trump on Sunday.
The US president has said he would give “very specific” details on Monday, and his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said semiconductor tariffs would likely be in place “in a month or two”.
Lutnick said pharmaceutical products would “also be outside the reciprocal tariffs”, using an administration term for tariffs aimed at bringing all US trade imbalances to zero.
The US president sent financial markets into a tailspin earlier this month by announcing sweeping import taxes on dozens of trade partners, only to abruptly announce a 90-day pause for most of them.
China was excluded from the reprieve.
The White House says Trump remains optimistic about securing a deal with China, although administration officials have made it clear they expect Beijing to reach out first.

Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer told CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that “we don’t have any plans” for talks between the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
China has sought to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Washington, courting countries spooked by the global economic storm.
Xi on Monday kicks off a five-day Southeast Asia tour for talks with the leaders of Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, as well as Malaysia and Cambodia.
The fallout from Trump’s tariffs – and subsequent whiplash policy reversals – has sent shock waves through the US economy, with investors dumping government bonds, the dollar tumbling and consumer confidence plunging.
Adding to the pressure on Trump, Wall Street billionaires – including a number of his own supporters – have openly criticised the tariff strategy as damaging and counterproductive.
The White House insists the aggressive policy is bearing fruit, saying dozens of countries have already opened trade negotiations to secure a deal before the 90-day pause ends.
“We’re working around the clock, day and night, sharing paper, receiving offers and giving feedback to these countries,” Greer told CBS.


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Donald Trump

No country ‘off the hook’ on US tariffs, Trump warns

US President Donald Trump holds an executive order on tariffs at the White House on April 2. Photo: Abaca Press/TNS

Donald Trump’s “Truth Social” post saying that no country was getting “off the hook” on tariffs. Photo: Truth Social/realDonaldTrump

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday that Washington does not “have any plans” for talks between Trump and China’s Xi Jinping. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

Trump’s tariff carve-outs for tech are ‘small step’ towards rectification, China says

A woman poses with her smartphone displaying the @realdonaldtrump TikTok page, in Washington, US, on January 19. Photo: Reuters

China ups tariffs on American goods to 125%, will ‘ignore’ future US hikes

China has responded to US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff increase with a reciprocal rate on American goods. Photo: AFP

Asean’s ‘illusion of solidarity’ splinters amid Trump’s tariff threats

Illustration: Huy Truong

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had vowed to lead an Asean-wide response to US tariffs. Photo: Getty Images/TNS/AFP

Workers stitch apparel at a Vietnamese garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City on April 3. Photo: AFP

A stock trader in Indonesia monitors the Jakarta Composite Index on Tuesday as uncertainty over Trump’s global tariff policies roiled markets. Photo: AFP

Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim (centre) poses for a group photo with Asean finance ministers and bank governors on Thursday, the last day of a meeting held in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AFP

Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, has claimed Vietnam’s trade deficit with the US is “out of control” and accused it of “cheating”. Photo: AFP

Chinese Premier Li Qiang (fourth from left) joins hands with Asean leaders for a photo at last year’s Asean-China Summit in Laos. Photo: AP 

Container ships dock at the Port of Rizhao in east China’s Shandong province. Photo: Xinhua

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Meanwhile, the US president’s trade representative told reporters ‘we don’t have any plans’ for talks with China’s Xi Jinping


Meanwhile, the US president’s trade representative told reporters ‘we don’t have any plans’ for talks with China’s Xi Jinping.
