Trump will explain tariffs on electronics on Monday

The administration announced late Friday that some electronics were exempt.

Last Updated: April 13, 2025, 11:43 PM EDT

President Donald Trump on Sunday said there will be no exceptions for tariffs on electronics and that he would clarify his administration's policy on Monday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced late Friday that some smartphones, computers, chips and other electronics would be exempted from tariffs, but Trump's top economic advisers hit the Sunday talk shows to explain the policy, saying that tariffs against electronics would be coming in the next month or two.

“There was no Tariff ‘exemption’ announced on Friday," Trump posted Sunday afternoon, and that semiconductor tariffs will “just be moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’”

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Here's how the news is developing.
Apr 07, 2025, 9:57 PM EDT

China calls US tariffs 'groundless' and 'typical bullying practice'

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson called the United States' imposition of "reciprocal tariffs" on China "groundless" and a "typical unliteral bullying practice," in a statement Tuesday morning local time.

"China reiterates that there are no winners in a trade war and there is no way out for protectionism," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said.

"China urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practices, cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, stop suppressing China's economy and trade, and properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect," the statement added.

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

Apr 07, 2025, 7:17 PM EDT

Sen. Cantwell responds to Sen. Thune on tariff bill

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., responded to Majority Leader John Thune’s suggestion on Monday that her and Sen. Chuck Grassley's tariff bill likely has "no future" in the Senate, claiming that the Republican "doesn’t want to listen" to constituents and colleagues sounding the alarm on Trump's trade policies.

"Sen. Thune doesn't want to listen," Cantwell told reporters on Monday evening. "We got more endorsements today from organizations, consumer groups, who are really impacted by this. ... So now we have inflation, and we have business anxiety, and we have a very unpredictable situation, so it's affecting our economy and it's affecting consumers. I would hope my colleagues would listen."

Despite Thune's assertion that he wouldn't bring up the bipartisan tariff bill, Cantwell said there was still some movement on her proposal.

"I talked to our House colleague who's planning on dropping a bill, so I'm sure he's going to continue to proceed. So, this is about having a discussion on something that's the constitutional authority of Congress. I think people should want to do that responsi[bly] and have that conversation,” she said.

Cantwell is expected to question U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday morning. She said she expects to ask him, "Where was the consultation with Congress about this?" and, "Where's the homework done by the administration to not misconstrue the authority that was given?"

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

Apr 07, 2025, 6:35 PM EDT

'Almost 70 countries' have approached US on tariffs: Treasury secretary

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business there have been "50, 60, maybe almost 70, countries now who have approached" the U.S. about the tariffs.

"As I advised on many shows on April 2, I suggested that the foreign officials keep your cool," he said. "Do not escalate and come to us with your offers on how you're going to drop tariffs, how you're going to drop non-tariff barriers, how you're going to stop your currency manipulation, how you're going to stop the subsidized financing. And at a point President Trump will be ready to negotiate."

Bessent weighed in on talks with Japan, saying that after the president's call with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba earlier Monday, Trump asked Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to take the lead on negotiations.

"Japan is a very important military ally. They're a very important economic ally, and the U.S. has a lot of history with them. So I would expect that Japan is going to get priority just because they came forward very quickly," Bessent said. "But it's going to be very busy, and President Trump, again, gave himself maximum negotiating leverage, and just when he achieved the maximum leverage, he's willing to start talking."

Pressed on if he believed a deal could be struck with Japan in the next week or two to help the markets, Bessent didn't answer directly, only suggesting that "negotiations are going to be tough."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Apr 07, 2025, 5:37 PM EDT

Dow posts largest point swing ever

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a third day following the tariff rollout and Trump's threat to raise tariff rates on China.

The Dow posted its largest intraday point swing ever -- falling more than 1,700 points during its Monday session low, then swinging up 2,595 points from low. The Dow dropped 349.26 points, or 0.91%, to close at 37,965.60.

For the S&P 500 Index, Monday's 8.5% high/low spread has only happened 20 other times since 1962, according to S&P Global. The S&P 500 briefly entered bear market territory during the session but was last off nearly 18% from its recent high. It shed 0.23% to end at 5,062.25.

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, April 7, 2025.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters

-ABC News' Victor Ordonez

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