Smartphones, laptops and semiconductors tariff exempt

After spooking markets with a wave of heavy-handed tariffs, Trump has backpedaled and further excluded a bunch of tech gear like smartphones, laptops, semis, and solar panels from the eye-watering 145% tariff hike on Chinese imports. The move is being spun as a strategic push to give companies time to shift manufacturing to the US, but let's be honest, it probably has more to do with the $640 billion Apple selloff and tech stocks bleeding out.

Investors like us can breathe a big sigh of relief. Apple, which still makes the majority of its products in China, was staring down a pricing disaster that could've made iPhones unaffordable luxuries. Same for Nvidia and other chipmakers who rely heavily on Chinese supply chains, tariffs on semis would've wrecked margins and disrupted the flow of components.

Now, with exemptions in place (applied retrospectively to early April), markets have some much-needed clarity. It's a win for us the Apple-Nvidia crowd, and possibly a signal that the White House is paying attention to Wall Street's reaction.

Having said the above, let's wait to see how this all pans out.