NVIDIA and Apple Score Big Wins With Tariff Exemptions

Apple Inc. received what one analyst called “the best news possible” after the Trump administration announced that it would exempt smartphones and other consumer electronics from a new round of tariffs. This decision comes as a major relief to Apple and other large tech firms that have been under pressure due to the escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

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Apple’s stock, along with shares of other technology companies, had taken a hit in recent months as investors grew concerned about how Trump’s steep tariffs might affect the industry. With Apple’s manufacturing operations heavily based in China, many feared that the company would be forced to either raise prices on its products or absorb the added costs, which would hurt profit margins.

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Between April 2, when the tariffs were first announced, and the previous Friday, Apple’s shares had fallen by 11%.

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This isn’t the first time Apple has benefited from a favorable tariff exemption. During Trump’s first term, the company also managed to avoid tariffs on certain products, thanks in part to strong lobbying efforts from the U.S. tech sector.

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“The U.S. tech industry has a loud voice,” wrote Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives in a note published Saturday. He noted that despite initial resistance to granting exemptions from within the White House, the administration eventually acknowledged the practical impact these tariffs would have on American companies.

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Ives described the decision to exclude smartphones and other critical electronics as a recognition of the tech industry’s economic importance and the global reality of supply chains.

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According to updated information released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a number of product codes will now be exempt from the April 2 tariffs. These include codes for smartphones, laptops, integrated circuits, transistors, semiconductor storage devices, and even the machines used in semiconductor manufacturing. This broad list of exemptions will likely benefit a wide range of tech firms beyond just Apple.

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Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon noted earlier in the week that Nvidia Corp., a major chipmaker, had previously disclosed the classification codes for its various products. Many of those product codes now correspond to items listed among the exemptions. For example, Rasgon pointed out in a Monday note that GPUs used for gaming—classified under code 8473.30—fall within the exempted category according to the government’s new bulletin.

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This update could offer a major reprieve for other semiconductor and server-related companies, not just Nvidia. With tariffs removed on these components, firms may avoid the price hikes or cost-cutting measures they had feared would be necessary. The industry had been bracing for the financial consequences of supply chain disruptions, but the exemptions suggest that the worst-case scenario may have been averted for now.

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Analysts and tech companies alike will continue to review the government’s guidance in the coming days to better understand which products are definitively excluded from the tariffs and how this will impact their operations and strategies moving forward. For now, the response has been largely positive, with analysts indicating that the news could stabilize investor sentiment in the tech sector.

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Wedbush’s Ives added that large tech firms were facing a limited set of options if the tariffs had gone into effect. “These companies had essentially no choices,” he said, highlighting the deep reliance of American tech firms on manufacturing operations in Asia. With supply chains so entrenched across China and neighboring countries, it would have been incredibly difficult and costly for firms like Apple to make sudden shifts in their production processes or relocate to different regions.

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Ultimately, the tariff exemptions provide much-needed breathing room for a sector that had been struggling under the weight of trade policy uncertainty. For Apple, in particular, the move may help restore investor confidence and offer a pathway to rebound from the losses seen in recent months. It also reflects the influence that tech companies continue to wield in Washington, particularly when major policy decisions threaten to disrupt their global operations.

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While trade tensions may continue to cast a shadow, this exemption marks a significant win for an industry that’s proven to be one of the most sensitive to global political shifts.

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