Trump Tariffs Exempt 470 Products as White House Balances Forced-Labor Push and Price Risks
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jul 25
Trump Tariffs Exempt 470 Products as White House Balances Forced-Labor Push and Price Risks
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jul 25
Summary
More than 470 products were carved out of Trump’s new tariffs that took effect Friday on 60 trading partners, according to Federal Register fine print released late Thursday.
The exemptions preserve earlier carve-outs for USMCA-compliant imports from Canada and Mexico and for goods such as coffee and cocoa that cannot be produced at scale in the United States.
New exclusions also cover items from cork and planting seeds to semiconductor testing equipment, raw metals, used clothing, and art and antiques—reflecting what analysts called an affordability concern.
The tariff package is only the first step in a broader protectionist drive, with USTR Jamieson Greer pursuing probes that could support more duties on over 16 trading partners and sectors including robotics, wind turbines, and pharmaceuticals.
That expansion faces political and economic limits as rising gas prices tied to the Iran war heighten voter sensitivity before midterms, while a fragile US-China trade truce could be disrupted by new industrial or tech tariffs.